Redemption
by Nectaris
Summary: Rated E for everything, a lemony flavored pie containing healthy servings of fluff, violence, romance, angst, sex, and all that other good stuff. RenoxTifa, and a few surprise pairings.
1. No News Is Good News

Tifa stood at the sink, piling dirty mugs and glasses on top of one another as she collected the remnants of last night's business. _Saving the world works wonders for publicity_, she thought, smiling to herself. The bar had been fuller the last few nights than she could ever remember. And even Reno's boisterous, flirtatious presence couldn't drive the customers away. Another smile tugged at her lips as she thought about the massive hangover the red-headed Turk was trying to sleep off upstairs. He had been too drunk to walk, and Tifa had insisted he stay the night in the spare upstairs bedroom.

She jumped and nearly dropped a soapy dish as the phone rang, and she closed her eyes in irritation for a moment. Cloud Strife's Delivery Service had become immensely in demand overnight; Tifa suspected it had more to do with the idea of calling a number and having Cloud show up at your house than it did with the actual deliveries. Still, the extra money definitely didn't hurt. Drying her soapy hands, she climbed the stairs resignedly.

She peeked in at Reno and saw through the crack in the door he was lying fully clothed sprawled across the bed on his face, his shoes still on and a pillow over his head. She giggled and then ran for the phone.

"Hello, Tifa's Seventh Heaven and Cloud Strife's Delivery Service, you name it we deliver it!" She listened silently to the calm male voice of the man on the other end of the phone for a few minutes. "Yeah, sure I remember you! How could I forget? We owe you so much….Yeah, Cloud's doing great." He continued to talk, and Tifa abruptly felt all the blood drain out of her face. Her mouth dropped open in shock and she felt around for a chair to stumble into.

"How can that be? Is this a sick joke!? It can't be true!" The serious voice on the other end kept on at length, and Tifa clenched her trembling hands in her lap.

She hung up suddenly, and took several deep breaths with her eyes closed to steady herself. When she looked up she saw Reno leaning unsteadily in the doorway, looking vaguely ill and _very _rumpled, but a little concerned.

"What's the trouble, babe?" he asked curiously. Tifa looked at him with worried eyes and tried to collect her thoughts.

"Something…something's happened…"

The room he was in was white; the walls were white, the ceilings were white; he didn't know about the floor because he hadn't managed to sit up yet and the room was pretty small. Sometimes he was awake enough to see blurry faces, and hear snippets of conversations. Most of it was surprisingly un-clinical: expressions of concern, reassuring voices, worried sighs. He would be encouraged to open his eyes, turn his head, try to lift his arms sometimes. Most of these actions still eluded him. He couldn't even speak more than a few words, even though they had a lot of questions. Questions about who he was, how he had gotten there, questions about his sword…

He was glad when they eventually stopped asking questions, and soon after this he started to get new visitors. Their faces swam across his vision, worried green eyes and silver hair like his own. He knew his hair was silver only because he had seen it fall across his eyes when he couldn't lift his head up anymore and it flopped back on his pillow.

_Kadaj, _they called him. The name swirled around his brain and rippled through his mind. It sounded familiar. He could see the faces were sad. He wanted to be able to move, to speak, to show everyone he was still alive, still… there. He wasn't all there yet and he knew it, in the same detached way that instinct warns people of danger. He couldn't look right at the thought, only approach it from an angle like a mote in the eye that disappears when you look at it. So he floated in and out with it, until the morning came when he finally found the strength and cohesion to squeeze his brother's hand back and open his eyes.

Reno let out a low whistle as Tifa finished telling him the news.

"No kidding," he said in amazement. "I knew they were tough, but…whew!" She shook her head.

"I know they died, I believe Cloud. But this is the same doctor that rescued Cloud when he had the Mako poisoning. He wouldn't lie to me, I know him. I think – the only thing I can think of is that _she_ brought them back the way she brought back Cloud. But why?"

"Who knows? I always said she was weird, yo," he said with a weak hangover smile.

"That's not the half of it. He wants us to bring them here. To take care of them." Reno's eyes popped open.

"I think you've done enough al –" he started to say, but she shook her head again.

"He says they're not even the same people. He doesn't know about their minds or personalities or whatever, but their DNA is totally different from the Sephiroth and Jenova genes. They didn't even remember who they were until this week, Kadaj is still in a coma. How can I hold all that against them if all of it was just Sephiroth? Besides," she added in a quieter tone. "The villagers there won't tolerate it. They've given Cloud's doctor two weeks to get them out before they… before they're killed. They're still very weak. They won't stand a chance, it'll be murder."

"Kadaj and them killed a lot of innocent people you know. Do you think there'll be any better reception for them in Midgar? There's gonna be a mob outside your door in ten minutes. They stole a bunch of _kids, _Tifa. The guy's out of his mind."

"They're just boys, really. Only kids themselves. Only alive long enough to be used by a crazy evil man and then die trying to please some rotting mutated corpse." Reno groaned.

"And we all know how you feel about kids. I know where this is going."

"I felt sorry for them. Even Loz."

"You mean the sadistic pansy that beat you up?"

"I didn't say I _liked _him, I just felt sorry for him," she amended quickly.

"Can you handle this? Can Cloud? Especially this soon after. I mean, he's had his head fucked with a little too much in the last three years. He's better, he's more stable, but he needs time. Know what I'm sayin', yo?" Tifa laughed softly.

"Yeah, I know what you're sayin', yo," she said winking at him. "Since when did you become Cloud's psychologist?"

"I'm just sayin'. Shinra doctors trashed my mind all to hell with Mako years back, and I'm still shakin' it off. That kid's lucky not to be a basket case," he said seriously.

"I know," she said sadly. "I'm not even going to consider it until I've talked to him. I'm afraid to even bring it up, I don't know what it'll do to him."

"Where is he?"

"Costa Del Sol, making deliveries."

"Why don't you go talk to him? Take a vacation. I'll hold the fort down. But only for a few days," he added quickly.

"You." She said skeptically. "Watch two kids, keep the house up, bartend at night, and answer phones during the day?"

"With Rude as a bouncer. It'll be fun!" Reno said with a toothy grin. He nodded enthusiastically, then stopped and grabbed the sides of his head and grimaced.

"Tell you what, you take a shower and a hangover remedy, while I think about it." She got up, rummaged around for a towel, and dropped it playfully over his head.


	2. In the Details

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Tifa's brow furrowed in a worried expression.

"No problem!" Reno replied with a salute and a cheeky grin.

"We'll keep Uncle Reno in line!" Marlene chirped up from next to his leg, where she was firmly attached to it.

"I could call Barrett, you don't need to go to all this trouble…."

Reno frowned and spoke more quietly so only she could hear, which was difficult with Marlene sitting on his feet.

"If you're going to do this, if you're really serious, you're going to have to do something _now._ You can't hesitate, those boys don't have any time. You really think those people are gonna wait two weeks? Mobs don't keep deadlines, believe me, I know."

"I know. And yes, I am serious, if Cloud agrees. I just don't think anyone else will take care of them. Sorry, I know you can handle it."

"Okay then. Get outta here. If something goes horribly wrong, I'll just call and whine to Elena. She can't resist a chance to gloat when I actually need her help."

"Are you sure Rufus doesn't mind me stealing you? I didn't think you were actually serious about having Rude as a bouncer, I could've just closed the bar for a couple days."

"You kidding, yo? Rufus'll be so glad to not have me bouncin' off the walls of that hamster cage for a few days he'll probably pay you for it. Now get goin', you're gonna miss your boat." He smiled broadly and she finally smiled back. Tifa leaned down to ruffle Denzel's hair and hug Marlene.

"You be good for Reno. Do what he says, go to bed on time, and tell me _everything_ he did when I get back." The Turk rolled his eyes exaggeratedly and put a hand to his chest.

"It's like you don't _trust_ me or somethin, Teef."

She just laughed and kissed the kids goodbye.

"Bye Reno, behave yourself," she said and gave him a quick hug before turning to go. He caught her wrist and grinned at her.

"Nuh-uh. You're not getting off that easy." He pulled her in before she had time to object and kissed her on her open mouth. She was stiff with surprise for a moment before she gave in and kissed him back, one hand sliding through the long red ponytail. "Ah jeez," Denzel muttered behind them in embarrassment and Marlene giggled. Tifa broke away, blushing.

"Can't send you off on a weekend vacation with another guy without somethin to remind ya of me," he said softly, still grinning like a fox. He thought he heard her mutter "thank you" under her breath, but then she was out the door and down the steps, waving to them.

They watched her for a few moments as the car drove down the street. Marlene looked up at the Turk's crestfallen expression as she disappeared.

"I know why you're sad," she said quietly.

"Why's that?" he asked, cocking an amused eyebrow. As Tifa would laugh and say sarcastically, _that's why I love you, Reno, you're so good at hiding you're emotions_.

"Everyone's always going away. They never stay long. It makes Denzel and me sad, too."

He looked down at the little girl and what he saw was a little too familiar for him. He reached a hand down to take hers, and motioned the kids inside.

"Let's play a game or somethin, ok yo?"

"Yo," said Denzel with a grin. Reno shook a finger at him.

"You start now and Lockheart'll kill me. What the hell. I'm gonna teach you somethin that'll really tick her off, so at least I'll deserve it."

"Can we play Scrabble, Reno?" Marlene asked.

"That's that one with words and stuff, right?" he asked, frowning.

"Yeah!"

"Tell you what. I'll teach you a new game. See, you take five of these cards…"

Reno sat cross-legged on the floor across from Denzel, chain-smoking like a demon and tugging his ponytail irritably. His jacket was thrown to the side, where Marlene had descended on it with joy and was now wrapped in the oversized garment and was nearly invisible except for the braid and the eyes peeking out over the collar. His sleeves were rolled up and he looked more rumpled than usual as he glowered at Denzel with a decidedly uncharitable expression. The young boy seemed not to mind, he just sat there, placidly regarding his cards.

"How is it," said Reno, chewing on the end of his ponytail, "how is it that a ten-year old boy plays forty-two consecutive games of five-card poker and only loses six times to a man ten years his senior with fourteen years of experience?"

"I'm just that good, yo!" Denzel replied cheerfully.

"I'm either gonna kill the kid or I'm starting to like him…." the redhead muttered.

"No, it's cause Uncle Cid taught him to!" Marlene chirped in muffled voice from inside the jacket, feet swinging off the edge of the bar as she counted out Denzel's significantly larger pile of fake 'cash'.

"Marlene!" said Denzel in a tragic voice. Marlene's eyes grew big and sorrowful.

"Oops. Sorry, Denzel." Reno's jaw dropped.

"You mean I went through the explanation of that whole thing, played for two hours thinkin' you guys never even heard of this, when that middle-aged pole-vaulter taught you how to cheat already?"

"Uncle Barrett, too," piped up Denzel.

"And Cloud."

"And Yuffie."

"Especially Cait Sith."

"And we don't cheat!"

"You mean Marlene plays too?"

"She's better than Barrett."

"I don't believe this. They took away the only bad habit I was sort of pleased to be able to teach you. Does Tifa know about this?"

"Nope."

"You're not gonna tell her, are you, Reno?" said Marlene hopefully.

"Nah. But I get to take you out drinking the first time! Greedy sons of…uh." Marlene looked at him curiously and Denzel looked at the floor and made a sound that resembled a snort of suppressed laughter. Reno regained his composure. "They can't teach you everything, and that's my area of expertise." _Besides killing people, _said the voice in the back of his head that he usually ignored, and he ignored it.

"Yuffie taught us something else, too! Wanna see?" said Marlene enthusiastically from inside his jacket.

"Uh, sure. Ok." Reno braced himself for whatever bizarre or disgusting habit the ninja had taught them, but Marlene simply wriggled out of the jacket and held up his wallet with a big smile. The red head gaped at her.

"How… Oh." He thought of her hugging his leg before and understood. "Hey, that's cheating! I took it for granted that you just liked me or something, but I guess not." _How old were you when – ignoreignoreignore_…. "Good job. Don't do that unless it's really important though, ok yo? People figure out you can do that, they won't like you very much." Marlene looked confused. "It's not a magic trick, babe, people'll get the wrong idea. You want to do that to someone, ask me first all right? And don't tell your moth- don't tell Tifa."

"Ok," Marlene said, handing his wallet back. Then she hugged him around his stomach and looked up at him. "We _do_ like you, Reno!"

"Yeah, you're funny and you don't make us do our homework!" Denzel said.

"Oh no. Sorry buddy, but I'm more scared of Tifa than I'm scared of you not liking me any more. Lots of people don't like me, it's no big loss, yo."

The dock was packed with vacationers, and Tifa said silent thanks that she had decided to pack light and didn't have to deal with the cumbersome loads of luggage other sunburned tourists did. She fought back her irritation as she was shoved one direction and another by middle-aged men wearing Hawaiian shirts and suntan lotion on their noses. Screaming children and squabbling parents hauled baggage over people's toes and into their legs. Tifa pressed her lips together tightly.

_I can handle the world ending, I can fight for my survival, I can even deal with Cloud's temper tantrums, but I'm gonna go on a murderous rampage if one more fat person steps on my feet._ The giant man in question in front of her stopped abruptly for the fifth time and she ploughed into him, fat sweaty shirt dampening hers. She wrinkled her lip in disgust.

_That's it. That is really _it. She stood on her toes and looked around for a few seconds before finding what she was looking for. Shoving through a couple of knots of people, she made it to the side of the dock and managed to leap up on the railing without being tipped into the water. She ran lightly along it to the end of the dock where a set of stairs ran up to the bridge, and climbed the rough stonework of the bridge's wall to avoid the crowd. Throwing her backpack up onto the wide stone lip of the bridge and ignoring the yells and catcalls, she climbed after it into the crowded sea-side main street of Costa del Sol. She breathed a sigh of relief as she settled her pack on her shoulders in the relatively uncrowded street.

_Now I just have to find him._ She riffled through the wrinkled pack of passes, tickets and maps in her back pocket until she found a scrap of paper with an address scribbled on it.

_Good ol Turk intelligence._ She glanced around, and saw the address she was looking for was the first house across the bridge as you entered town. Convenient. _I knew he mentioned he had a house here, but wow…_ she thought as she approached it.

The two-story building adjoined a bar and Tifa wondered if that had anything to do with living at the Seventh Heaven for so long. Cloud didn't particularly like loud or busy places. Tifa rattled the doorknob. Just her luck. Well, it couldn't be that difficult to break it. She walked around to the cool backyard of the house, shaded by palm trees. Palm trees… She looked up to the second story windows, and sure enough, there were nothing but curtains blocking them.

One quick jump, and a few feet of shinnying, and Tifa was running along the trunk of the tallest palm that leaned over the roof. An abrupt jolt nearly threw her back down to the ground, and as she knelt on the trunk to get a better grip, she was alarmed by a slow sinking feeling. _Damn it,_ she thought angrily, leaping back up and running swiftly to the end of the tree as the roots pulled free of the soft sandy soil and it tipped over. The branches drew level with the window she had been aiming for when she was still six feet from the end, and they scraped the wall. Tensing her legs, she leaped the distance in one jump. Unstable as it was, the tree shot downward as she leapt off and she grabbed wildly for the windowsill.

She grunted in pain as her fingers scraped over the stucco rim and her knees smacked into the wall. _At least it's a short drop into sand if I let go. But as long as I'm this far…_ Gripping hard onto the sill she pulled herself straight up and over the window ledge. She rested there for a second and glared at her scraped knees.

"You could've rung the doorbell," said an amused, sleepy voice from across the room. Tifa nearly fell out of the window.

"Cloud? I thought you were gone, you _never_ sleep this late!"

"What time is it?" he muttered drowsily, looking around for a clock.

"Four in the afternoon." Tifa swung her other leg over the window and stood up, brushing stucco dust off her blue tank top. She looked up and froze, then giggled. "Uh, Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

"Should I leave while you get dressed?"

Cloud looked down and blushed before grabbing a sheet.

"Uh, can you turn around for a second?"

Tifa laughed and turned to look out the window. There was the quiet rustling of clothing behind her and a louder silence.

"So. I didn't know you slept naked."

"Uh…"

"Late night?"

"Um, I had a late delivery. All the way to Gold Saucer, for Dio."

"Still can't stand the guy?"

"Still. Teef, listen… uh, you can turn around now." Tifa turned back to face him and wondered why she was still blushing at the sight of him without a shirt. He was buckling on his pants with his back to her and she squinted at him in the dimly lit room.

"Cloud, are those _bite_ marks!" He gave a guilty start and then turned to look at her with a shame-filled expression.

"Tifa, I…"

"I don't think I want to hear this," she said icily. Things were still slightly awkward between them, especially since Aerith had died. "I didn't come here to discuss sex lives, anyway." Cloud blushed and looked at the floor. "You remember the doctor that took care of you when you had Mako poisoning?"

"A little, yeah. I don't remember much from then. Except…except you being there." He looked even more uncomfortable.

"I don't know how to tell you this, so I'm afraid I'll have to be blunt. Kadaj is -"

" – Alive," Cloud finished. "I know."

"How! How can you know –"

"Turks contacted me. One of them told me. Reno, I think."

"It can't be Reno. He's babysitting the kids."

"You left the kids with _Reno_?"

"Don't change the subject." Tifa frowned. He was doing that damn evasive maneuver again. "I'm glad I don't have to break it to you, I guess. There's more to it, I'm afraid. The villagers, they don't want them there. He's trying to find someplace to send them until they're able to survive on their own. Right now, they wouldn't make it. They don't know even the most basic things about making a living on their own. They don't know anything Sephiroth didn't put in their heads. Someone has to take care of them."

"I don't like where this is going."

"It has to be us, Cloud. No one else understands the situation as well as we do, and no one else is going to be able to cope with them. Think of it as getting three more orphans."

Cloud shook his head vigorously as he reached for his shirt."Yeah, homicidal, adolescent, crazy orphans. Tifa, even forgetting that…about what they've done, we don't have any room, Midgar's people won't stand for it either, and how on earth do you expect to be able to do anything with them? We're the last people on earth they're going to want to see! There are so many things wrong with this I don't know where to begin!"

"That's what I thought too, at first. But we're the only people they know. Can you really imagine them going to live in some normal foster home? No one will take care of them if we don't."

"Gee, I wonder why," he said with uncommonly harsh sarcasm.

"What's wrong with you? I know this is the last thing that I have a right to ask you, of have any hope of getting you to go along with, but you were the first one to say you wished that it had turned out differently. You told me how sorry you were that they never got a chance. Can't you even think about it?"

"There's a difference between wishing you hadn't killed someone and bringing them into your home to live. Think about what you're asking me to do! You want me to take three proven murderous psychopaths into our house with two kids living there! What about Marlene and Denzel? You feel justified in risking their safety so you can play rescue?"

"That's not fair, Cloud," she whispered.

"Isn't it the truth?" he continued relentlessly. "Think about it Tifa. We've been all around the world, saving people, killing people, no rest, no time to think about all of it, no time to think about what we're going to do when it finally ends. We don't want to think about it. We don't know how to live normal lives in a normal world that doesn't depend on us for survival. When was the last time you were home for more than a few weeks?" Tifa looked at the floor, blinking back tears. She didn't want him to know how close to the mark he was hitting. "What do you think that's doing to the kids? We can barely manage – no, we can't _even_ manage a normal life for ourselves and you want to add _them_ into the mix! Why do you think I took this stupid job? It's not because I enjoy being some courier-lackey to obsessed fan-girls or impatient businessmen. It's because at least this is being out there, traveling, moving so I don't have to stop and think about what I'll do when I finally _HAVE_ to stop. We're not domestic people, Tifa, and we don't know how to be. Adding more wayward orphans to the mix doesn't make us a family. I'm not Cloud The Delivery Boy and you're not Tifa The Bartending Mother of Two. We're Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart, Saviors of the World, adventurers, heroes," he ended with bitter sarcasm.

Tifa stared at him with tears streaming down her face silently.

"Tifa, if you want to settle down, this isn't the way. This isn't going to help. It'll only make it harder. They're not our responsibility."

"Settle down?" She said suddenly. "What do you mean by that? Because I want to be sure." She tried unsuccessfully to keep her voice even and choked back a sob. "Because if you're going to stand there, half-naked, a continent away from what I _thought_ was your home, with nail marks and love bites on your neck while you pretend you're out adventuring and being a hero, and lecture ME about settling down, you can just go to hell, Cloud. Stay the hell away from me and get out of my life. Not that that will take much effort." She dragged the back of her hand savagely across her eyes as she grabbed her backpack, ran down the stairs and out the front door.


	3. Somebody Else's Problem

Okay, so here's a nice, big juicy update. Take a good look, because next update, it's going M! I'm talking lemons abounding people. Happy, yummy lemons. Or not so happy. Anyways. Enjoy! Read! And review, dang it!

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Tifa knew better than to think Cloud would come after her. It was always like this. He would say something cruel or hurtful without thinking about it, and she'd run from the room/house/campsite in tears to be alone. Hours or days or weeks later, she would inevitably be the one to miss him first and come looking for him to make up. _Either I'm going to have to stop letting what he says bother me, or next time I just won't go back. Sooner or later he'll have to learn not everyone is going to try to make things easier on him like we do. Well, like I do, I guess._ She slowed from the brisk pace she'd been keeping up since she left as the street ended and gave way to crowded beaches. The sun was warm and the sand soft and hot as it spilled over her sandals. Little kids splashed and screamed in the waves and Tifa wondered if she should bring Marlene and Denzel next time. She swung her pack off her shoulders and rummaged through it for a towel.

She hunted around for a fairly secluded spot under a palm tree further down the beach and spread out her towel, kicking off her jeans and sandals, pulled off her tank top and waded into the warm surf, just enjoying the soft breeze and sun. _Well Reno, I'm taking my vacation_, she thought. She remembered kissing him in the doorway and let a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth.

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The rest of Reno's day, gratefully, had been largely uneventful. After a failed chorus of "Cid doesn't make us do our homework!" Both children were ensconced in the den until their homework was finished, under pain of death.

"Shouldn't you be threatening us with early bed times or no dessert or something?"

"You can live without dessert. You can't live without oxygen," he added cryptically.

"Yes sir, yo!" Denzel had responded quickly. Meanwhile, Reno was in the kitchen, wrestling with the uncooperative refrigerator. His first attempts to get it open the straight forward way- pulling on the handle – had been fruitless. This puzzled him, so he pulled harder. Still no luck. Being Reno, the next logical step below the use of high-explosives, was to track down a crowbar and apply unnecessary force. To his chagrin, the only thing that suffered was the paint job.

He was too busy fuming as he leaned against the opposite counter, arms crossed and scowling darkly at the appliance to hear the muffled giggling from around the door to the kitchen. Finally, with a feral snarl, he launched himself across the kitchen, braced both legs on the cabinets and hauled backward on the handle until the veins stood out on his arms and the tendons on his neck stuck out.

Marlene waited until he thought he was going to hurt himself before running over and tugging his pants leg.

"That's not the fridge, silly!" Reno retained his death grip on the handle as he stared at her.

"What?"

"That's a safe!" He looked to Denzel for conformation.

"Yup. That's where they keep the materia. It was Yuffie's idea. She says that's where she hides all her – "Marlene clapped a hand over Denzel's mouth.

"Tifa said we weren't supposed to say that word," she whispered at him. Reno cocked an eyebrow and let go of the fridge/safe.

"Okay. I didn't want to know anyway. So where's the REAL fridge, yo?"

"By the bar, we'll show you!"

"Oh no! Back to the homework!" The groans of both children filled the house as they dragged their feet back to the den. "And I might let you stay up late if you're finished by dinner." The groans stopped abruptly and were replaced by scuffling and scrambling noises as the kids fought to get back to the den before the other.

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"Grilled cheese?" said Denzel doubtfully. "Is this all we're having?"

"Yep. Important thing to know when you're a bachelor, yo. If women think you're not eating properly, they come to your house and cook you food." He went back to the blender he was fiddling with. "One thing you should always know how to make, is drinks." He plunked two tall glasses down in front of them.

"Yay! Margarita slushies!"

"VIRGIN margarita slushies. I don't want to prolong my death anymore than I have to. Or possibly push her over the edge into torture. Besides, they're healthy right? Lots of juice. Say, what time is this place open, yo?"

"10 o'clock. Tifa sends us to bed at nine."

"Okay, so here's the deal. You can stay up to nine thirty if you show me where Tif keeps everything. Sound fair?"

"Yo!" said Marlene happily.

"I'm definitely gonna die when she gets back."

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Tifa stayed at the beach until the sun went down, then hiked further down the coast until she came to the grasslands.

"It's been a while, I guess," she said looking down at the jumble of tent poles and trying to decide where to start. "Oh well." She picked up a corner of the canvas. "I've been wanting to go camping."

Forty-five minutes later, just when the stars were starting to come out and her fingers were starting to get cold, she had a tent pitched and a driftwood fire burning merrily. She flopped down beside it and rested her chin on her knees, arms wrapped around her legs.

"It's a lot lonelier than I remember," she said quietly to the fire. She sighed and closed her eyes to rest them for a few minutes.

"We never had less than three of us together before, have we?" a voice said from beside her. She jerked away in surprise and looked over to see Cloud. 

"Cloud!"

"Yeah, I thought I'd surprise you and actually look for you for once. I've been a pretty big ass for several years now. I thought…. Ya know, since Kadaj, that I'd gotten a lot better. Stopped moping around. I just don't adjust well."

Tifa sighed and looked back at the fire.

"I know it's been hard, you didn't even know who you were until a few years ago. I've been trying to take it easy on you, Reno keeps telling me to, but I'm not sure that was really the right thing to do now. Maybe I should have slapped it out of you a long time ago."

He nodded slowly and sat next to her. "Yeah, maybe you should've. God know Barrett and Cid tried. Even Vincent, in his own weird, really, really, really subtle way." She laughed.

"Sometimes when I'm talking to him it's hard to tell whether he's hinting at something or just in pain."

"Yeah. Hey Tif."

"Yes, Cloud?"

"You can…WE can take them."

"Thank you, Cloud. But I want you to really mean that. Don't just say so because you're trying to make me happy."

"No, I really mean it. I thought about it, and I remembered how alone I felt, when I fell into the Lifestream. When I was waiting for someone to find me. How confused and alone and scared I was. I didn't even know who I was. I never felt so horribly alone, even when… even when Aeris died." Tifa touched him gently on the shoulder.

"They're even more alone, Cloud. They have no one. Everyone hates them." He sighed.

"I know. I don't hate them. I know you don't. you need to talk to Barrett, though, for Marlene's sake. And I think Denzel deserves some say in this, too."

"I'm afraid they won't understand."

"Maybe not, but it's their house, and their lives. We have a pretty weird patchwork family, but it's all we've got. We can't throw that away."

"Especially for them?"

"Tifa…"

"Sorry. You're right. It just took such an effort to decide this finally, I'm afraid if I get another chance I'll change my mind." Cloud laughed and threw an arm around her shoulders.

"Tifa, I don't think I've ever known you to let go of an idea once you've made up your mind to follow it. If we can't let them live with us, we'll find someplace else for them, I promise." Tifa smiled and leaned back into his arm. She closed her eyes.

"Thank you, Cloud. And thanks for coming to find me."

"Sure. Should have done that a long time ago. I'm sorry."

"That's ok. You've made up for it." She hugged him back and sighed in relief. He was quiet for a few moments.

"Tifa, I know I keep pushing you away.I know what it must've looked like this morning-"

She twisted abruptly and kissed him, closing her eyes tightly. He surprised her by returning the kiss, gently lifting her lip with his tongue and slipping it inside her mouth. She kissed him harder, urgently, because she could feel the tears building up in her closed eyes. She knew it was Cloud's strong arm around her shoulder, pulling her against his warm chest, she knew it was _his_ soft blond hair tickling her face, but she was remembering Reno's surprisingly gentle grip on her wrist as she walked past him, the soft feel of his ponytail slipping through her fingers. A hot teardrop spilled down her cheek and she kissed him harder. He put a hand gently on her back and guided her to the ground with him.

_God DAMN it, I've wanted nothing but this ever since I've known him and now that I'm here, now that I have him…Why don't I WANT this?_ She shifted her body below his and used one arm to hold some of his weight off of her and the other to softly cup the back of her neck as his thumb stroked her throat. She moaned softly as his warm weight settled on her, and two more tears trickled down the sides of her face. His thumb brushed the damp salty track of one and he drew back in alarm.

"Tifa, did I – " She looped an arm around the back of his neck forcefully.

"_No, _Cloud. _Please…._" He met her eyes for a long moment, conflict and guilt and want all in his eyes at once. Then he kissed her back as hard as she'd been kissing him, and she tasted mint and hint of vanilla. Reno appeared in her mind again, she could feel his long-fingered hand pressing into her lower back, pressing her against him. She could taste coffee, strong coffee with the irish cream he liked to steal when he thought she wasn't looking, and the cigarettes she was always yelling at him to stop smoking. She heard him laugh off her protestations, and saw him stave her off with one arm while he flicked open his lime-green zippo and lit up another.

Cloud ran a hand down her waist, softly, questioning. His blond hair swept over kind blue eyes as he looked down at her for approval and she saw Reno, head over his drink looking up at her between shocks of red hair and grinning that crazy lopsided grin. She saw those beautiful, exotic blue-green cat's eyes staring into her own with concern as he knelt in front of her, holding her hand as she cried. The faint Mako-luminosity of Cloud's eyes reminded her of the familiar glow she saw in Reno's. And suddenly she realized she couldn't do it.

"Cloud –"

"Tifa –" They said at the same time, paused, and then laughed. He smiled at her and brushed the tears off her face with the calloused pad of his thumb.

"I guess it just wouldn't work, huh?" She said softly, with a sad smile.

"I felt bad for this morning, I don't know why I let go like that." He stroked her hair affectionately.

"We just needed to know for sure. And now I know. Thanks, Cloud." The awkward moment past, Tifa found friendly comfort in his warmth. "I thought that was what I wanted, but I guess I don't know." She closed her eyes and snuggled up against him. "It'll be nice to be friends again."

Cloud sighed in contentment and hugged her to him.

"Yeah. I should probably go home, huh. You want to crash at my place?"

"Why don't we stay out here? It's been a while since we've been camping, it'll be like old times. Since it took me half an hour to pitch the tent, might as well sleep in it." Cloud laughed, with none of the strain or tension.

"Yeah, ok. That sounds good. Get away from the noise and see the stars, get some air. Sure." Tifa yawned loudly and dragged herself upright, stretching.

"Better hurry up, Strife, or I'll hog all the blankets," she said, grinning.

"Whatever. I'll put you in a headlock and you can sleep outside!" She slept comfortably that night, back to Cloud's stomach with his arm thrown casually over her. For the first time in months she went straight to sleep, and as she dropped off she thought of Reno and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

At the bar, things were going badly. The Shinra Railway Worker's Union had come in as soon as the bar had opened, and half an hour later, the Shinra Construction Laborer's Association had sent their own representatives. Reno hadn't had trouble keeping up with the drinks, sixty men couldn't place orders faster than Reno could drink when he wanted to, and there were only thirty or so people there. With Rude standing implacably by the door, wearing his omnipresent suit and tie, there had been only minimal rowdiness. But shortly after both tribes had assembled, the unfriendly glances between the workers became unfriendly epithets, and unfriendly thrown glassware…

"Hey, bitch! You break it, you bought it, yo!" yelled Reno at the nearest offending patron. The man scowled and ignored him. Unfriendly glass projectiles became unfriendly human projectiles, and Rude couldn't throw them out fast enough.

Reno was itching to whip out his EMR and solve things the Turk way, but he figured that Tifa wouldn't want to pay to remodel a bar he had trashed. Drink supply stopped as Reno was forced out from behind the bar to assist in throwing bodily out the door the more combative laborers. He winced as another chair broke over the back of a burly man. Resignedly, he seized the chair breaker by the collar and belt and threw him out the door into the street.

"I think we're losing money on this one, Rude!" he shouted over the noise.

"We?" The big man grunted as he took a hit to the stomach and then rendered his opponent unconscious.

"Fine, be that way!" the red-head growled as someone hauled him backwards by the ponytail. Rude looked sideway and saw the laughing drunk yanking on the fiery hair and mentally groaned. _Here we go. _

The hot-tempered Turk pulled his ponytail from the man's grip and turned on him, eyes narrowed.

"Don't. Touch. The hair." He said in a deadly quiet voice that the men around him could all hear clearly despite the riot. Rude had to stand in awe for a few moments as he watched the red blur across the room, men flying in every direction, men running out the door to avoid him, men hitting the floor and not getting up. Unfortunately, the damage was starting to pile up along with the bodies. As enthusiastic as Reno was about getting a good fight in, he wanted Tifa to have a home left to come back to.

"It doesn't look like it's working!" he hollered over to Rude, as three alreadly bloodied men reentered the bar to finish the fight. Rude was too engaged to answer. Then, abruptly, the men began to stop. It took Reno a few minutes to recognize this, but when the six foot construction worker he was fighting didn't attempt to block a solid blow to the jaw and crumpled to the ground, he stopped and looked around, bewildered.

Marlene was standing at the foot of the stairs in her nightgown, and Denzel stood next to her, holding her hand. He looked impassive and even unsurprised, but Marlene looked ready to cry. One of the rough necks shuffled his feet in embarrassment.

"Aw, Jesus." The guy next to him slapped the back of his head.

"Watch your damn language! There's kids in the room." Rude was frozen in place by the door with an unconscious drunk under one arm and a headlock on another who was quickly passing out.

Reno made his way over to Marlene and knelt next to her, smiling.

"What're you doin' up, yo? I thought we had a deal." Marlene reached out a trembling finger and touched his bottom lip. He wiped the dribble of blood away self consciously. "Just a scratch, babe. Why don't you let Denzel take you back to bed, okay? I'll be up in a minute, I've got to close up and clean up." Marlene's lip trembled.

"No! You'll start fighting again, won't you?" she looked at him accusingly. He sighed and picked her up, sitting her on his arm and looking around sternly.

"There's not gonna be any more fighting. _Right!"_ A mumble of assent went around the room from those in any state to reply. "Okay. So clear out, the lot of ya, and when ya come in tomorrow, you're gonna apologize to Tifa and double the tips for what ya broke. Now say you're sorry to Marlene." He glared at them fiercely, and the smudges of blood on his face made him even more formidable. A muttered chorus of "sorry" echoed around the room and gradually they filed out, taking their wounded with them. When the last few had finally gone, Reno sighed and set Marlene on a dry section of the bar.

Rude flopped into a chair in as close to a collapse as Rude ever let himself get. Denzel wandered around, surveying the damage. He looked up at Reno.

"Tifa's gonna kill you, huh?" The Turk nodded morosely.

"Yeah, and this one's not even my fault."

"Why were they fighting?" Marlene asked, her eyes big.

"The train people don't like the construction people," Denzel filled in for Reno.

"You mean this happened before?"

Denzel nodded. "Every year, after the rallies. Tifa put out the cheap glasses yesterday before she left. Didn't she tell you?"

"No, she left that particular part out," the red-head muttered under his breath. "I'll have a hell of a job cleaning this up."

"We'll help! We're not sleepy!" Marlene chirped.

"She brainwashed you guys good. Are you nuts? Beer, blood, broken glass and broken furniture and you want to help?"

"Do we get to stay up?"

"I guess."

"Okay. Can we watch TV after?"

"Sure, why not, I'm a marked man as it is. But let me handle the glass ok? Why don't you go home, Rude, it's gonna be a long night. Seriously, yo, thanks for the help, why don't you go get some sleep. I'm sorry I dragged you into this." Rude nodded back, and betraying his usual taciturn self, answered back.

"No problem. Any time. It's been a little ….too quiet lately." He nodded good night to the kids and Reno threw him a quick salute as he disappeared into the darkness. The red-head took a moment to survey the dmage.

"Oooook… Marlene, you know how to wash dishes?" She nodded. "Ok, whatever's not broke, you can wash. Denzel you can help sweep up, I'm gonna get rid of this broken furniture." Luckily it was a fairly small bar, but it was still almost two in the morning before the last leg was reattached to the last chair, the last mug was set to dry on the rack, and Denzel sleepily wiped down the last unbroken table.

Reno yawned massively. "Ooook….I think I'm ready to hit the sack."

"You said –" Denzel was cut off by a huge sleepy yawn. "-you said we could watch television."

"Tenacious little bugger, aren't you?" Reno said with admiration.

"What's tenshous?" asked Marlene sleepily, clinging to Reno's neck. He looked blank for a moment, then ruffled her hair.

"Damned if I know, kid. Ask me tomorrow. C'mon, let's flop on the couch. If ya wanna watch TV, that's what we're gonna do. You guys work like Turks." Denzel beamed with pride at the compliment and wandered into the living room to flip through channels.

Reno dropped onto the couch and stretched out, head flopping back on the arm rest and long legs extended. Marlene insisted on curling up under one of his arms and laying her head on his chest. Within a few minutes she was out like light. Denzel valiantly tried to stay awake and enjoy his hard-earned awake time, but slowly his eyelids began to droop.

"You look tired, kid," Reno said quietly from the couch, trying not to wake Marlene. Denzel clambered onto the couch and insinuated himself between Reno's legs and the back cushions.

"Not… tired…" He said, yawning again. He rested his head on the Turk's shoulder and blinked drowsily. Reno just smiled. Sure enough, ten minutes later Denzel joined Marlene, leaving Reno alone with the TV.

Carefully he groped around the couch for the remote, switched the TV off, and set his goggles on the back of the couch. He looked down at the sleeping children fondly.

"A guy could get used to this," he said softly. He pulled the throw blanket off the couch and gently tugged it over the sleeping kids as best as he could with his free arm. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back, and soon his breathing evened out and he fell fast asleep.


	4. The Inopportune Moment

Whoo! That took a while to finish, and there's a decent sized installment on the way very soon, too, now that it's FINALLY getting somewhere. And I promised lemons, and I deliver! Now I have to go take a shower, I feel so dirty... R+R please.

Tifa was on the boat back to Junon early the next morning, having parted on better terms with Cloud than she could ever remember. It was still hard to shake off the old feelings, but she felt a little better now that she knew it wasn't serious anymore. Somehow that made going back home a little more exciting. _Maybe I can actually live my life now_. She was also a little anxious to get back. She had called home twice that morning and gotten no answer, the second time at nearly eleven when the boat had docked in Junon. She was only a few minutes from home now, and her anxiety was rising._ I hope it's ok, I hope he didn't burn it down, or get in a fight, or teach the kids to smoke…_ When she pulled into the front though, and paid the taxi, everything looked intact. In fact, it was almost eerily quiet.

Quietly, dreading what she'd find and regretting her decision to leave Reno in charge, she let herself in the front door and was surprised to see the bar clean, swept and missing some furniture. She frowned, but was privately relieved that that was all the obvious damage. She started to climb the stairs to check on the kids when she heard a soft snore from the living room. She peeked around the corner hesitantly.

Reno was on the couch, fast asleep with his head thrown back over the armrest, a kid snuggled up under each arm. One leg had fallen off the couch and was protruding from under the blanket, and she tried not to laugh when she saw he still had his shoes on. Approaching quietly, she put a hand to her mouth when she noticed he was sporting a magnificent black eye, lips split in at least three different places and much of his normally neat ponytail pulled out in tufts at odd angles. She looked the children over carefully and gently stroked Marlene's hair when she was certain they were all right. When she looked back up she saw Reno was smiling drowsily at her. He held a finger up to his bloodied lips. He signed a carrying motion at her and she nodded. Carefully she tugged the blanket off, smiling when Marlene wiggled closer to Reno in her sleep and Denzel muttered something and flung an arm over his head, narrowly missing Reno's face. Gently she slid her arms around Marlene, trying to ignore how much contact with Reno's warm body that gave her. She stood up slowly and carried Marlene up to her bed, Reno following with a limp Denzel. They tucked the kids in and closed the door, then Tifa motioned Reno back down the stairs.

"What happened?" she asked as she made him sit on the couch while she inspected his war wounds. She knelt in front of him and touched his bruised face gently.

"Did you forget something about that particular night of the year, Tif, or were you purposely trying to get me killed?" he asked, wincing as she brushed a finger over his cut lips.

"Why, what was – oh no!" Her jaw dropped.

"Oh yes." He said accusingly.

"God, Reno, I'm so sorry! I completely forgot! I was getting everything ready for it too, and then the doctor called, and oh I'm so sorry, your poor face! How did you manage?"

"Well, Rude threw half of them out, and we were working on the second half when the first ones started filing back in…" Tifa's eyes grew round. " …. And then Marlene musta had a nightmare or somethin' because she came downstairs." He looked at her seriously..

"Oh no!"

"Oh YES," he asserted again. "Well I thought she was going to freak out right then, but everybody sorta froze and got real embarrassed. I made 'em apologize to her and then they left. The kids wanted to help so they could stay up, so I let 'em. We never made it upstairs, ya see." Tifa sighed.

"I should be mad at you for something I think, but it's not really your fault. And I'm really sorry I forgot about rally night. I never would have left if I had remembered."

"Well you lost a few chairs and some cheap glassware, but no big loss. So how'd the trip go? Ouch," he winced again as she started to heal his bruises.

"Ok I guess. We had a fight, and he said no, and then later…well," Tifa blushed and looked at Reno's shoes as she put her materia away. Reno put a hand under her chin and slowly lifted her face to meet his. His eyes were enigmatic.

"Well what, Tif?" he said in a quiet voice.

"I guess we kissed and madeup," she said in a whisper, blushing violently.

"Really." Reno's hand dropped stiffly into his lap and his face turned cold, in the bitter frigid way that only Reno's aqua eyes seemed to be able to.

"Reno, please," she said, fumbling for words. "Nothing happened, when we got back to Costa del Sol this morning…"

"Yeah, nothing happened," he said, catching on to the 'this morning' and standing up abruptly, forcing her to step back. "You made out, and spent the night out under the stars, but nothing happened." He walked out of the room and started ransacking the apartment looking for his jacket.

"Reno…really. I'm telling the truth, I'm not interested in him anymore…" she said, following him.

"Really Lockheart?" She winced at the intentional use of her last name. "Because I'd hate to think that I spent the night getting the shit beat out of me and working someone else's job for free while Cloud Strife was fucking the girl I was doing it for." Tifa tried to interject, but he kept going. "Cause I really don't enjoy being made a fool of, ya know? But hey, I'm the idiot who volunteered, right?" She tried in vain to bristle at the offense.

"I thought you were doing this as my friend..."

Reno jerked on his jacket as he turned to face her.

"Turks don't HAVE friends, Lockheart. We don't live long enough. We're lucky if we can date the same person twice before they're attending a funeral. In this job, my life-expectancy is about thirty, thirty-five if it's a quiet few years. So you'll have to excuse me if I don't have time to wait around gettin' beat up while the girl I like fucks Strife. I've gotta go." He tried to push past her but she shoved him up against the wall and he could see this close to her that there were tears in her eyes.

"I don't know why I ever liked either of you when you say such horrible things to me all the time, but I do, and I can't help it. I don't love him. Not like that. Not anymore." She took a deep breath and blinked hard. "I thought I did for a long time but it was just old hope refusing to die. But I know now. You want to know why? Because when he touched me, when he kissed me, all I could think about was you, and you kissing me, and your stupid red hair, and your stupid goggles, and the way you taste like coffee and those STUPID cigarettes." With each 'stupid' she shoved him into the wall a little more. He stared at her for a long time with a strange expression in his blue-green eyes. She waited silently.

"Goddam you're beautiful when you're angry."

"Reno, I'm gonna kill you if you think that – "she whispered, but he kissed her anyway, first gently and then fiercely and possessively. He gripped her wrists tightely and pulled her around so their positions were reversed and he was shoving her hard against the wall, whole body pressing against her, crushing his mouth onto hers. She tasted blood in her mouth as his lip split apart again, but he didn't stop until they both needed to breathe. He stayed close to her body, their foreheads tilted together.

"You better mean that, Tifa. Because if you kiss another man before I'm cold in the ground I'll break his legs and arms, " he said so savagely that she couldn't help but believe it. It frightened her a little, but she liked it. She wanted that.

"Tell me again," she breathed in his ear.

"I'll kill any man who touches you," he said vehemently, running his lips and tongue along her neck, up to her jaw.

"Good," she said fiercely. "Reno, I…"

He leaned into her and she closed her eyes, almost involuntarily she arched against him.

"Tifa."

"Yeah…what?"

She opened her eyes when he didn't answer and looked at his face. His eyes were closed and both his hands were pressed hard against the wall on either side of her, as if he was trying to hold himself off of her. He was breathing hard and she reached a hand out to touch his face in concern and he leaned into her hand. "Reno?"

"Tifa…I'm not….I'm not like Cloud….I'm not a good person…" She laughed softly and pressed up against him again.

"Is this really the time?" she asked softly. But he pushed her away from him gently.

"That's not what I mean. I only have so much control, if you're not sure, we're gonna have to stop."

She didn't want to think. There had been too much thinking lately. She didn't answer him, just kissed him again, hard, and he growled. He leaned down and put an arm behind her knees and one behind her back, lifting her off the floor. Without a word he carried her up the stairs into her bedroom and kicked the door shut.

"Sh! The kids'll hear!" She whispered at him.

"Too late," he whispered back, grinning fiendishly. He tossed her onto the bed and pinned her down before she could respond. "I told you, I tried to warn you."

She smiled back and leaned up to kiss him and he followed her down to the bed and let her wrists go, his body over hers, warm and heavy. She pushed him back a little, breathing heavily and reached down, helping him pull off his jacket. He sat up, kneeling over her hips and smiled down at her with a teasing expression and slowly began to undo his top buttons. It was Tifa's turn to growl then, and she grabbed the front of his shirt with both hands and ripped it apart. Buttons flew off in all directions and he laughed as he pulled the rest of the shirt off and helped her with her own. The demented grin broadened when he found she wasn't wearing a bra.

"Geez, Tif," he said in admiration. She blushed a little and shrugged.

"I was feeling reckless," she said with a little smile. He leaned down to kiss each nipple and then she gasped and smacked his shoulder when he nipped one. She looked at him with wide eyes and he peered up at her through the red strands flopping over his eyes.

"You liked it," he said with complete certainty.

"Maybe…" her response was cut off by a sharp gasp when he dipped his head and drew a generous line between her breasts with his tongue. Suddenly impatient, he sat back on his heels and tugged her skirt down and over her feet, throwing it into a corner as she arched upward to help him remove it. She leaned up and pressed her chest against his, kissing him hard and fumbling blindly at his belt until his strong fingers brushed hers away and he pulled his pants off and threw them on the floor, his boxers quickly following them. He looked back at her anxiously when he noticed she had stopped. She was blushing faintly, and turned even redder when she saw he was watching her. He smiled and bent down to kiss her. When he drew back she was smiling reluctantly.

"Sorry. Guess it's been a while," she whispered. A sudden, alarming thought struck Reno.

"You're…you're not a…ah..um…" he managed. Tifa shook her head. "Oh, ok," he said with a sigh of obvious relief. Reassured he kissed her softly again, letting one hand stray down her side, the fingertips feathering lightly on the outside of one long thigh, then slipping between them to stroke lightly and maddeningly up and down. Each upswing brought him a little closer, until he finally slowly drew a finger across and then into her. Tifa moaned softly into his mouth, and pushed against him. He gave an odd shiver of pleasure when her fingernails dragged up his back lightly and then cut into his shoulder when he teasingly fluttered his fingers. She pulled him to her harder with her arms around his neck. He pulled back slightly, and she could feel the grin on his mouth with her lips as one of his damp fingers drew soft circles on the skin between her thigh and bellybutton. She slapped his back, hard this time, and she could have sworn she saw a flicker of incredibly intense lust flash over his face.

"Dammit, Reno, I can't take anymore teasing right now! No more indecisive men!" He lifted himself off her suddenly and then pushed forward abruptly. She was so startled she gasped and almost pulled away for a second before responding by pushing just as hard against him and wrapping her legs around his waist to pull him in as far as she could. She held him there for several seconds, and he wrapped one leanly muscular arm around her back to help her. "Oh God...Oh Reno, oh God." Her eyes shut for a moment and she pressed her forehead against his chest.

"That better, princess?" He said with a feral smile, trying to keep his voice even. Tifa didn't respond except to pull back and then move against him again. It was Reno's turn to lose his composure and almost fall forward onto the mattress, but he rested the top of his head against the headboard for a second, eyes closed and motionless while she moved beneath him.

"Yeah...like...like that...harder, oh _fuck_ yes..." Then he met her eyes and kissed her again, and sped up the pace. She clung to him as if for support and tried desperately to bite her lip and not make noise. Breathing hard and apparently unable to speak, Reno lifted her up against him so she could bite his shoulder. Much sooner than Reno liked to admit, he felt himself lose control and barely stopped himself from crying out, especially when Tifa came soon after and bit hard enough into his shoulder to almost draw blood. He collapsed onto the bed beside her, and with some effort managed to draw her to his chest and hold her there. She rested her head against his neck with a sigh of deep satisfaction and lay there drowsily, sliding her fingers through the pieces of his wild ponytail that had come loose. Gradually their breathing slowed.

"I love your hair," she said sleepily. Reno stifled a yawn.

"The great sex god Reno is never tired after just one round. Unless of course the previous night he was totally kicking ass and pretty drunk, too."

"Leave it to you to get smashed, fight an entire bar, pass out on the couch, and then have sex as soon as you wake up the next morning."

"The only thing left on my schedule is more sex."

"You don't have to work today?"

"Nah. It makes Rufus uptight when anyone but him comes in with a stupid grin on their face right after getting laid."

"Somehow I can't picture Rufus having sex. It would mess up his hair. Besides, I don't think he's physically capable of a stupid grin."

"You're right, it's more like a vague, evil, self-satisfied smirk."

"Hang on, how did they know you were getting laid?"

Reno shrugged. "Hey, it's me. When don't I ask for a day off and then come in looking like I've just been through a drunken orgy?"

"That's a good point I guess," she admitted. He was quiet for a long moment and Tifa thought he had fallen asleep.

"So they're comin' here?" he said finally.

She squinched her eyes shut and wriggled closer to him, draping a leg over his hip to pull him in.

"Yes," she said, in a voice muffled against his chest. "I have to ask Barret and Denzel, though."

"I'd ask Barret first, if he says yeah then the little guy'll be more likely to go for it. Not that it's likely he'll say yeah."

"I never should have agreed to this," she groaned.

"This ain't like you, Tif. Givin' up on stuff. What gives?"

"Oh I don't know. I guess I'm not sure of anything anymore. I just never tell anyone about it."

He squeezed her shoulders comfortingly and kissed her forehead. She squeezed him back and he winced a little. She propped herself up on an elbow and looked at him with concern.

"Guess I'm not as good at having chairs broken over me as I used to be," he said with a wry grin.

"Are you hurt? Did I hurt you?" she asked with concern.

"Nah. But you know what you could do that might help?"

"Anything."

He sat up and whispered something in her ear that made her blush bright red and look down at the sheets.

"I don't think that's going to do much for your health," she said at last.

"Yah, but it sure is fun."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Neither of them got out of bed until afternoon, and whenTifa finally shyly ventured out of the bedroom, both children were still asleep. She let out a sigh of relief. She heard the door open again and Reno stuck his head out, red hair sticking up in every direction.

"Hey," he whispered. "Where are my pants?"

"I don't know!" she whispered back giggling. "You threw them somewhere." She closed the doors to the kids room and he opened the bedroom door all the way, wearing nothing but his boxers and his open shirt.

"Put some clothes on for god's sake!" she muttered at him, pushing him back into the bedroom.

"You ripped all the buttons off my shirt, remember?" he said, sitting on the bed and pulling her into his lap.

"Reno! Not again!"

"What can I say, yo? I missed you..."

"I was only gone for two days!" she protested, trying to pull his arms off her waist. He nuzzled her neck just below her ear and she shivered a little.

"C'mon, just ten more minutes, then I promise I'll actually LOOK for my pants," he whispered. She laughed quietly, then jumped sharply when the sound of the front door slamming open startled them both. Tifa scrambled out of Reno's protesting grasp and to grab a shirt off the dresser and wrap her long dark hair in a quick ponytail. Sh hastily tugged on a pair of jeans while Reno got up and began searching for his pants, muttering darkly to himself.

"TIFA!!!" a thundering voice from downstairs roared.

"Oh lord, it's Barret," Tifa whispered.

"Yeah, I kinda figured," Reno said with his hands still over his ears.

Tifa finished dressing in a split second, then ran for the bedroom door. She jerked it open and turned to tell Reno to stay put, but something caught her eye and she turned back to see Barret's massive frame blocking the doorway, his eyes firmly fixed on Reno.

"Well, hey," Reno said in a perfectly relaxed drawl from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed buttoning up his shirt slowly with what buttons he had left. Barret didn't answer, just turned a furious stare down at Tifa, who wished nothing more than to be able to drop dead right there. When Barret spoke, it wasn't in the typical loud-mouthed and exaggerated tone he used when he was angry. His voice was deadly quiet and frightened Tifa more than any explosive tantrum he could've had.

"So this is what's happenin' around here when I'm gone. Sleepin' with a goddam _Turk_," he spat. "Nobody watchin' the kids while you're in here fuckin' the murderer that killed your friends? What the hell is he doin'_ in this house_?!" he yelled at her. "_Are you outta your goddam mind_?!" he shouted, towering over her. Suddenly Reno was standing between them, shielding Tifa behind him and looking straight into the eyes of the larger man.

"The next time you call me a fuckin' murderer you better take a minute to remember all the people that were in that reactor before it blew," he said with a cold smile. "And the next time you fuckin' yell at her I'm gonna rip your own damn arm off and shoot you with it." Barret's jaw tensed and he brought his hand up.

"Why don't you try it now? I'm gonna break your scrawny neck in half and hang ya from that goddam Shinra monument -"

He was interrupted by the sound of a strangled sob behind him. Suddenly Marlene pushed through the doorway and wrapped herself around Reno's leg, crying and gripping Barret's metal hand.

"Daddy..." she sobbed out and began to cry harder. "Don't hurt him! Don't fight, don't fight, why does everyone always fight?" She pushed her face against Reno's pant leg and held tight to Barret's other hand, pulling him uncomfortably close to the red-haired man. Reno looked down at her with an unsure expression on his face, then saw a flicker of movement over Barret's shoulder.

"Denzel!" he yelled as the young boy made for the stairs at top speed. Reno picked up Marlene hastily and handed her to Tifa, then ducked around Barret in a swift motion. "Yo, hey kid, wait up!" He choked abruptly when something grabbed the back of his abused shirt and hauled backwards. Barret grabbed a handrul of red hair and pulled him back face to face with him, bellowing.

"Don' you go anywhere NEAR those kids!"

Marlene screamed and tried to get free of Tifa, who was trying her hardest not to cry. Reno gritted his teeth together and growled at him.

"You don't fuckin' _get_ it, do ya? He's gonna run. Ya don't catch him now, ya might never find him."

Barret glared at him, their faces inches apart. This close to him, the pain and conflict was visible in his eyes. Abruptly he let go and shoved the slighter man away from him. Reno stumbled and stood up, looking at him hard.

"You get that one free," he said seriously. "For her. Cuz there shouldn't be any more kids missin' parents around here. But if anythin' happens to that boy, I'll be back. Remember that." He turned and rushed down the stairs and out the front door in pursuit of Denzel. The only sound in the house now was Marlene's quiet crying. Barret slumped forward and sat down heavily on the top stair. Marlene finally got free of Tifa and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck from behind.

"Don't go, Dad, I'll be good, we'll be good, don't go. Don't be mad. We'll be better, promise!" Tifa sobbed sharply all of a sudden and put her hands over her mouth. Barret gently turned around to face the little girl and took her tiny hands in his big human one. He looked at her with deep sadness in his eyes.

"That what you think? I been leaving because you been bad?" Marlene nodded tearfully. "You think I don' like you?" She nodded again and Tifa cried harder, collapsing in the door frame and wrapping her arms around her legs. Barret pulled Marlene into a tight hug and shut his eyes tight.

"Don' you ever think that! Don' you ever. Never was a better little girl, not ever. Not your fault, not Denzel's fault, your Daddy's a damn fool. I couldn' not like you if I wanted to, hush now, no more a that. Don' think that. You're a good girl." Marlene gradually quieted in Barret's lap and Tifa remained curled up in the doorway, a shell-shocked expression on her tear-stained face. Marlene sniffed hard and sat up, looking over Barret's shoulder at her.

"Tifa?" Tifa blinked and gave her a weak smile. "Are you ok?" Barret interrupted.

"Marlene, you wanna come visit with me for a while? You and Denzel." He stood up and held her up on one arm, giving Tifa a hard look that Marlene missed.

"Really? Can we really?"

"Yeah, why don' you go get some clothes together, some for Denzel, too. We'll take a vacation. Just us. Maybe even hit the Saucer." Marlene hugged him hard and ran to her room to pack. She turned back and smiled at Barret.

"Don't worry, Uncle Reno always knows where to find Denzel when he's mad." She dashed to her dresser and began rummaging through her clothes.

"Can I wear my pretty dress? And my new shoes?"

"You bet honey. Anythin' you want. Go on now." He looked at Tifa with an expression half disgust and half exhaustion after Marlene had gone. "I wanna talk to you downstairs."

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"Yo."

Reno sauntered up to the miserable boy and flopped unceremoniously down on the tar paper roof beside him. Denzel stuffed his face into his arms.

"Go away," he said in a muffled voice.

"Nope. Sorry. I'm kinda annoyin' like that." Reno sighed and stretched his legs out in front of him, leaning against the silver duct Denzel sat behind. "If I wasn't terrified of your mom, I might give ya some of this," he said, taking a deep swig of blackberry brandy.

"She's not my mom," Denzel said flatly, but his eyes were fixed on the bottle.

"Why, ya got someone else to be your mom?" Reno cocked an eyebrow at him, but Denzel returned to staring sulkily at the tarpaper. Reno shrugged and looked out over the rooftops. "So, you're what, eight now?" He took another drink.

"Ten." Denzel's eyes had wandered back to the brandy.

"I was hittin' this stuff pretty hard right around then. An' that was the nice stuff." He handed the bottle to Denzel and the boy eagerly grabbed it and took a gulp. Reno waited a second, and sure enough, he had to grab the bottle back before Denzel dropped it, coughing hoarsely.

"That's a good sign," he said, nodding. "Means you're not too used to doin' it." Denzel swallowed hard and regained his normal color.

"Fucking Tifa doesn't make you my dad," he said suddenly. Reno sighed and had another drink.

"Ya don't get to talk to me like that 'til you think you can take me, kid."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I'd be pissed off if I were you. And I have been you."

"You don't know anything. None of you do. You just keep leaving, and fighting, and trying to act like you'd rather be home. None of you want to stay. If it wasn't for us, they'd never even come home. Marlene thinks it's her fault. But I think you're all full of shit. You got nowhere to go."

"You're not telling me anythin' new, kid. I know I got nowhere to go." He pulled up the left side of his shirt and pointed to long scar between two ribs. "See that? When I was two years younger 'n you I got in a fight with this kid over a bottle. He got me good, but he hit the rib and the knife didn' go in all the way. So while he's tryin' to dig this nasty piece of junk outa my side, I got him in the throat with the broken neck of the bottle. Killed him pretty quick." Denzel stared at him. "I'm not tryin' to impress ya. I'm not tryin' to tell ya that ya haven't got it bad, because people tellin' ya that is bullshit, doesn' help you at all to know how hard someone else has got it, cuz they ain't you. I'm tryin' to tell ya that I did that, an' I lived on the streets, an' I wound up here. I'm not necessarily unhappy about that, but I decided after that I might as well keep goin'. Already hit bottom, right? Well bein' a Turk may not get to me, but it ain't fer you kid. You don' wanna keep doin' that, keep seein' it all the time. Most people, that kinda thing stays with ya. An' this's the only thing that keeps it out," he said, waving the bottle.

"S'that why you drink?"

"Hell no!" Reno said with a wide grin. "I drink cuz I like to. You don' wanna be me." He paused and looked Denzel "But you don't wanna be them either. They don' know what they want or where they're goin', they got nothin' to do an' they hate it. You, my man, are THE man of the house. You are the only non-fucked-up individual in that whole family, because you know what you want, and how to get it, and you're pissed that no one else gets it." He passed the bottle back to him, and Denzel took a smaller drink this time before handing it back to him. There was a long silence.

"So what do I do?"

"Well, my guess is that Barret's gonna take you away from Tifa. Maybe that's a good idea for now."

"How come?"

"I'm not gonna treat you like a kid, cuz you're old enough to know. But if I don't, you gotta not act like one either. Get me?" Denzel nodded. "You're three crackhead Jenova freaks are back." Denzel paled visibly, and swallowed, but he just waited to hear the rest. Reno nodded approval and gave him another drink. "You'll need it. I wish I'd a had one. Tif's gonna take care of 'em 'til they get better, came outta the Lifestream with bad Mako poisoning. Cloud told 'er to ask you first before she did it, but she never got around to it before that big dope showed up this mornin'."

"Why would she ask me? They don't care what I think. I'm just a kid."

"S'your home too. Least that's what spikes said. They don' feel they got a right to do that w' out askin' you first. So whether you like it or not, kid, you got a home. And a family. Even if they're pretty screwed up an' don' know what they want."

"Why does she want to help them? If they came back, isn't it just 'cause they didn't finish it?"

"I dunno, kid. Tif seems to wanna give 'em a shot, so I guess you an' me just gotta sit back an' keep an eye out for her. Just in case it's not what she thinks. How 'bout it?"

Denzel thought for a long moment, frowning at his patched corduroys in concentration.

"All right," he said finally. "But should I go with Barret or stay and watch out for Tifa?"

"Probably better if you go this time, yo. Tifa'll have her hands full. 'Sides, I'll be here. I'll let ya' know how it goes down. Now take another good one, cuz I better not see ya' drinkin' a day before you're old enough unless it's with Reno." Denzel grinned and made one more attempt at the brandy, even though it made his eyes water.

"Okay," he choked out afterwards.

"All righty then Let's get off the roof before Tif spots us and cuts my hair off."

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Whew, that was a long stretch, sorry for the delay, exams and homework all year so far. Hope you like the new installment, and that there aren't too many grammar errors, and thanks for the support!

On another note, please don't use the anonymous reviews irresponsibly. All CONSTRUCTIVE input is welcome, praise or criticism both, but flaming is rude and unhelpful, so don't do it or I'm going to have to turn off the anonymous reviews.

Many thanks to everyone who left a helpful review.


	5. Reno to the Rescue

Ok! So! New chapter up, and new angstyness. For those of you who think that the SHM are long overdue, I'm with you! But they will be here soon. As in, next chapter soon. And yes, I realize that this is the first chapter to officially have a title, but I'm working on that.

Today's forecast calls for drama.

Warnings are for angry man bad language today.

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"Have you totally lost it?" Barret growled at Tifa across the bar, where she stood with her arms crossed, having finally pulled herself together. "Cloud says you wanna take those three terrorists in here? An' now your sleepin' with a goddam _Turk_?!"

"Terrorists should take care of their own, don't you think Barret?" Tifa said with a cold expression.

"Don' you give me that shit. You been hangin' around with that murderer too damn much, you're startin' to sound like Shinra."

"We're all murderers, Barret. We've all killed people. People we didn't know. People that didn't deserve it. We thought we had a good reason. We were doing it for the Planet. They were doing it for their mother. Reno does it because he's told to. The only thing that makes us ANY better is that we've got a better reason."

"The _reason_ is what matters! Biggs, Wedge, Jesse, I'm not gonna believe they were jus' murderers with a purpose!"

"Don't you _dare_ use them for an argument! Don't you _DARE!_ We did what we did because we thought it was the only way but no one said it was ok because of that! It doesn't make us right! We don't have any right to judge them!"

"What were ya gonna do, jes' tell me when they got here? Jes' put a bunch a murderers in the house with two little kids?!"

"No, I was going to talk to you first, and Denzel. I only just got back from talking it over with Cloud this morning. This is your home too, and I don't think-"

"It ain't no home ta me if Shinra's welcome in it. You jes go on. Do what ya want. But ya don' get so much as near those kids again 'til ya come to your senses, or so help me I'll kill that red-headed sonuvabitch, ya hear? Nobody as puts what they want ahead a their kids' safety is a friend a mine. An' no _mother_, neither. God help ya, Tif. Cuz I won't. Not no more."

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The Heaven was dark when Cloud finally got home from Costa del Sol, the heavy army duffel slung over one shoulder. He glanced at his watch and was startled to see it was only ten o clock. He moved quietly (as quietly as Cloud could move in the heavy boots he always wore) across the porch and into the tavern.

Tifa sat at the far back table, two candles burning, a tall dark bottle clenched firmly in one gloved hand. She stared firmly ahead, scorning the glass in front of her to pound the scotch straight back in large gulps. A deserted collection of beer bottles, several empty, sat at the empty chair next to her. She looked up and smiled wanly. Cloud set the bag on the floor and sat down heavily in the abandoned chair, grabbing up an unused beer.

"No go, huh." he said morosely, taking a deep swig. She shook her head and closed her eyes, pressing the bottle against her forehead. "What happened?"

She opened her eyes and met his gaze for a moment before flicking her red eyes back to the table top.

"Why did you tell him?" she asked in a hoarse monotone, still staring at the scarred table.

"He found out about them," Cloud said quietly. "He said he'd called here yesterday to warn you and there was no answer. Called me to see if I knew where you were and what was going on. That was this morning. He was already on his way to your place."

Tifa chuckled dryly, an exhausted cracking sound.

"Reno doesn't think much of answering phones."

"Tifa, where's Marlene? and Denzel?"

Tifa shuddered mildly and Cloud sat forward, concerned. She let out a great wavering sigh and collapsed, burying her face in her arms and knocking the bottle off the table to smash on the floor as she cried hysterically. Cloud, confused and uncomfortable, got up and put an arm around her shaking shoulders, kneeling next to her chair. Very slowly she recovered and began breathing slowly again. For several long moments Cloud thought she might've fallen asleep.

"Tifa?"

"You didn't answer my question," she said, startling him.

"W-what?" he stammered.

"Why'd you tell him?"

"Tif, I was trying to talk him around. He was talking crazy about how they'd come back to finish off Midgar and stuff like that, that they were sick." Tifa was still silent. "Damn it all Tif, I was trying to help you out! He figured it out though. Pretty quick, too. Said you always had too big a soft spot. Then he hung up." Tifa was quiet a moment more, then started to speak again without lifting her head.

"He showed up this afternoon. Walked in on us. Reno and him, they nearly killed each other. Denzel ran away and Reno had to go get him. Brought him back and Barret, he...he took...t-took them both." She began crying again, quietly this time. "It's so quiet now, without...M-marlene..." She sobbed quietly into her arms and Cloud tried vainly to comfort her. He looked up sharply as a shadow moved across the room from the doorway.

"Doin' a great job there, Strife," came the low voice as Reno stalked across the dark room, a faint aroma of cigarettes preceding him. Tifa lifted her head up as Cloud stiffened and stood up. "Hey there, beautiful," he said quietly to Tifa, brushing her hair back from her face as he hunkered down next to her on his heels.

"Oh, _Reno,_" she cried, and buried her face in his chest. He wrapped both arms around her shoulders and held her, kissed the top of her head and talked to her in a low voice Cloud couldn't quite make out. He stood there awkwardly, irritated and displaced. Reno shot him a hard look, then turned back to Tifa.

"I'm takin' you to bed, ok princess? You look awful, yo," he said with a smile.

"Fat lot of help you are," she murmured, but she looked up at him with a faint smile.

"I'm a _big_ help," he said, picking her up with little effort. "Look, you let all that nice helpful alcohol down through the floorboards! That's not gonna get you anywhere, babe. Just gets the cockroaches plastered."

Tifa laughed weakly, draping an arm around his neck. Cloud tightened his grip on the chair back and a distinct creak of complaint came out of it.

"I thought you had to work," she mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah, well, I was in the neighborhood. C'mon babe, I'm puttin' you to bed. Sorry I can't stay, but tell ya what, I'll even tuck ya in..." Cloud listened to them talk as Reno carried her up the stairs to the bedroom. He closed his eyes as the muffled voices drifted down the stairway. The little demons in the back of his mind piped up and tried to tell him they were talking about him, that Tifa was mad, she was always mad at him, why is _Reno_ here, why didn't she fall into _your _arms like that...

"Shut _up_," Cloud muttered to himself through his clenched teeth.

"Talkin' to yourself again, huh? Good to see someone's still on speakin' terms with ya."

Cloud jerked upright, eyes snapping open. Under his inner dialogue he hadn't heard Reno come back down. He said nothing, just glared back at the lanky redhead. Reno tossed his head towards the door.

"Outside." He grabbed two beers off the table and walked out onto the porch without waiting for a response. Gritting his teeth, Cloud reluctantly followed, and so did his inner voices. _Who does he think he is, waltzing in here like that? Bossing me around? Where does he get off acting like he can take better care of her? He's just a stupid, murdering Turk and I'm...And I'm Cloud Strife. The Hero. Fuck._

He shoved his thoughts into the back of his mind and tried to look less like a sullen teenager getting a lecture and more like a stoic SOLDIER who saved the world. Reno turned to lean on the railing. Neither said anything for a moment. Reno flipped out a lighter, cracked a beer and took a long drag off the cigarette. He closed his eyes in silent appreciation and let the smoke blow out his nostrils, curling in white eddies in the moonlight. There was more silence. Then he swung the other beer up and plunked it on the railing a few feet from Cloud. He took four steps back and leaned against the tavern, one foot propped up on the wall. Cloud stepped up and grabbed it, popped it open on the rail and took one long drink, but slowly, not willing to give away just how much he felt like he needed it right now. When he was done he saw Reno watching him, faint glints of Mako catching green flashes in the light.

"Why'd you come here?" he asked at last.

_Why's everyone always asking why I do things? It's not like I need their permission..._ "This is _my _home, isn't it?" Cloud asked with a bare emphasis on 'my.'

"This hasn't been your home for a long time, if ever. Don't give me that shit. Elena told me where she found you."

Cloud's face darkened almost imperceptibly and he said nothing.

"She's tired, Cloud. You guys give her too much shit to deal with, then ya disappear. She ain't a man, no matter how tough she is, and ya can't keep treatin' her like a little girl and givin' her a man's load of responsibility at the same time."

"I could say the same about Elena," Cloud shot back. Reno answered with low anger in his voice.

"Elena knew what she was signin' up for, she's a Turk. An' the Turks' personal lives are none of your business." His words carried a threat.

"They are when it comes to Tifa."

"What makes you think Tifa's your business?" Cloud flinched visibly. "You spent the last four years ignorin' her, now you think just cuz someone else shows interest you gotta get all protective all of a sudden? She needed ya before, not now. An' I think it pisses you off. Just another brick out of the 'hero wall', isn't it?"

"Shut up," Cloud hissed. "I don't want to be a hero, I never did. You think I _like_ having all these people die around me all the time-"

"No," Reno said sharply, cutting him off. "No I think you like brooding. I think you want to be mysterious and dramatic and untouchable. Well good fer you, la dee fuckin' da. Ya think she went through any less?"

"You can't fucking come in here and play happy fucking family with my friends and those kids with all that blood on your hands and then lecture ME. This isn't _your_ family, these aren't _your _friends, they're not _your _kids-"

Reno stood up from the wall and stabbed the cigarette at him.

"They're not yours! You had that chance to start over! To have that family, an' you just walked out on 'em! You walked out an' made everyone wait for you to fuckin' get over yourself and now you're ticked off that she's tired of waiting? You got some fuckin' nerve, Strife. NO, just _shut_ up, shut it! You weren't here for her! You're never. Fuckin'. Here. You owe her big, and I'm callin' it in tonight. I can't be here, I gotta get back to Rufus, but she shouldn't be here alone. So suck it up for once, ferget your stupid self, and take care of her." He slammed the beer down on the railing, but not so loudly that it might wake Tifa. He walked straight past Cloud, who was too furious and bewildered to come up with anything to say, and then he stopped. "One more thing, Strife. You touch her, I'll kill you. Slow." With that last retort he vanished off the porch and into the dark with a few long strides. Cloud stood still, staring off into the night for several moments before the crack of broken glass and a sharp pain in his hand broke him out of his reverie. He looked down at the beer bottle he had been holding and swore under his breath as alcohol seeped into the places where the glass had gone in. _Well that went well_.

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So before you kill me for putting poor Cloud and Tifa through all that, wait til the next chapter is up. Which should be soon because it's half done already. Of course, I'm always more interested in putting up a chapter sooner if people review...And chibi angsty Kadajs for everyone who has!


	6. Unwelcome Houseguests

Hooray! I'm back! I don't have the internet at home, and my break lasts a whole MONTH, so I haven't gotten to type, but I wrote simply REAMS of paper, so another update is on the way very soon. Finally, SHM action. I promise, you'll probably be sick of them soon enough, they're going to be everywhere from now on. Thanks for your great support and reviews, huggles to everyone and Reno chibis! Sorry for any errors, I'm using wordpad, my MW is expired and I'm spell checking myself and I'm impatient to get this up.

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Reno didn't come home the next day, or even that entire week. Cloud made good on his unspoken promise though and stayed with Tifa. He helped her restock the glassware, repaint the hallway, and clean the Heaven from top to bottom. Tifa had thrown all her nervous energy into cleaning and at night she fell into an exhausted comatose sleep that Cloud wondered at. He did what he could to make things easier, working the bar mostly by himself at night and keeping the nosier patrons from prying too much into Tifa's affairs. He didn't think that Tifa had had enough time to recover from the shock of losing the kids when the phone call came from the doctor in Mideel.

"Good to talk to you, Cloud. How have you been?" asked the kindly old voice on the other end.

"Same as always, I guess."

"Is Tifa around? I've got some news for her."

"She's...busy. Is this about the clones?"

"Ah yes, I see you've heard. Well, actually it is; they're being put on the boat to Junon this afternoon, are you set up for them there?" Cloud's mind was drawing a blank in his current state of overwhelmed-ness, and the only thing that popped into his head was a wistful vision of a padded cell.

"Set...up?" he said stupidly.

"Do you have some place for them to stay?" the doctor elaborated slowly.

"Uh...um, geez, hang on, I'll ask Tifa." Cloud's brain reeled for a few moments. _I guess I didn't really accept that this was happening. They've caused so much trouble already I forgot they were coming._ "Tifa? Tif! You there?" Cloud wandered around the apartment, hand over the mouthpiece. "Yo, Tif!" _Yo? Since when do I say yo? Gross. Never again. _

"In here, Cloud."

He followed the sound of the voice into the master bedroom, where she was folding sheets. She looked up.

"It's...well...he...they want to know if we're ready for, you know, them..." Cloud trailed off, feeling extraordinarily embarassed and uncomfortable as Tifa took the phone from him.

"Hello? Yes, of course. When? Tonight? Well, all- ...alright. Yes. Yes. That's fine. Is there anything else? Well I'd better get ready then. Ok. Bye." Tifa hung up the phone and looked at Cloud. "Well I guess it's too late to change my mind now, hmm?"

"Would you want to?"

"I don't know. I suppose not. But after all this...Well, I guess I'm just hoping it was worth it."

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Tifa sat uncomfortably on a stool by the bar, drinking another hot tea and hoping it would warm the chill in her spine. She glanced sideways at Cloud. She had half expected him to bolt when she'd asked him to stick around tonight, in case she needed the extra help. He'd just nodded his head, and finished helping her with the laundry. He hadn't mentioned Reno or the kids at all. He just quietly helped her around the house, worked, and brought her tea when she was through crying. He was very quiet. Even for Cloud. Then a thought struck her. She looked over at him again, afraid to ask, but now he noticed her scrutiny and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her.

"Cloud, what did Reno say to you when he left the other night?"

He hurriedly looked at the counter and she could tell by the way the tips of his ears blushed that he was either going to lie or not tell her. She shook her head in frustration and looked back at her tea.

"Look, never mind, forget i-"

"He told me to take care of you," Cloud forced out abruptly.

"He-he did?" She was looking at him in surprise now, and he made himself look straight at her.

"Tifa, I'm sorry that I ...haven't been here for you. I'm sorry I just left you to deal with everything. I don't want to run away, it's just that every time I get involved bad things seem to happen, you know?" Tifa gently laid a hand on his arm and gave him a soft look.

"Cloud... That's all right. I forgive you. I wish I could convince you it wasn't your fault, but more than that I wish you could have a normal life for a change." Cloud laughed, but not bitterly. She smiled. "It's been a long time since I've heard that," she said quietly, squeezing his arm. He met her eyes again.

"I know. But that'll change. Just...give me some time, ok? I'm still figuring some things out."

"I'm sorry I had to drag you into all this just now. And that it had to get so messy and complicated."

"It'll work out. Barret'll cool off. He always does, no matter what. Compared to what he's come through, this is nothing." She nodded sadly. "So, uh. I guess you and Reno are, uh..." he stumbled, trying to change the subject. She blushed.

"Well, yes. What did he tell you?"

"Oh, nothing about that, really," _Liar. _"But congrats Tif, I mean that. I'm glad you're with someone who'll make you happy and take care of you. Just be careful, ok?"

"He's not.." She shook her head. "I don't know how to explain it to you so you'll understand, but I don't have anything to be afraid of with him. Except, if he doesn't come back." She unconsciously glanced at the calendar.

"Don't worry, he'll be back." _He always is. _"Is that a truck?" He stood up and peered out the window as headlights flooded the back wall, silhouetting bottles and upturned chair legs. "Hey, Tif, the guests of honor are here." Mentally he gathered his will and steadied himself before escorting her out onto the porch. He hoped he looked better than she did, her skin had gone completely white and she was trembling slightly. _He was right, she's not as tough as we think._

The van rolled to a stop, and the driver's door opened. The short, friendly man that hopped out was somehow incongruous with the surreal, dark scene.

"Hi! I'm Stephen, the Doc sent me in his stead." He shook hands with Tifa and Cloud, not seeming to mind the odd situation. "I've brought your three orphans," he added in a low tone. "They're pretty tired out, it's been a long day for them and they're still kind of weak. The little one's the worst, he can't walk much yet, but he refuses to use a wheel chair so we just let his brothers carry him. They'll need to be in the same room, at least for a while. Don't ever separate 'em," he warned seriously. " We had a major freak out incident last night...but, well that's another story. They're all right, just shy and pretty frightened. Here, I'll get 'em." He turned and walked around the side of the van and tugged the door open. Tifa heard him speaking quietly and reassuringly, like a man with a nervous chocobo. Finally, past the glare of the headlights, Tifa made out a small figure with long hair peering shyly out of the door, before climbing out and standing still, arms wrapped around himself. A short-haired, taller man followed, jumping out with more energy before turning to lift the smallest silhouette out and carry him. The short man spoke to them for a few moments and then moved around to the front, and when the porch lights finally illuminated their faces, Tifa had to choke back a sick feeling of deja vu. But it soon passed, because these couldn't be the same three that had fought their world's best warriors and won. Not these young, vulnerable, barely teenaged children huddled close together and dressed in drab castoffs. More than anything right then Tifa wanted to comfort them. There was a long uncomfortable pause. Kadaj stirred in Loz's arms and appeared to wake up at last, and turned his head to look at Cloud with something like horror.

_Oh no. _Tifa glanced at Cloud, fearing what she would see, but his face only held sadness. His lips moved silently, then he seemed to pull himself together and spoke a quiet word.

"Brother..." Kadaj's face remained frozen for a minute, and then he simply closed his eyes and turned his face to Loz's chest. Cloud seemed satisfied with this and beckoned to Loz. The big man followed hesitantly, walking softly so as not to disturb his younger brother who seemed to have fallen asleep again. Yazoo remained where he was, uncertain. Tifa slowly reached a hand out to touch his shoulder. He flinched slightly, and pulled back.

"It's ok. You're safe here," she said softly. He looked into her eyes, as if searching her face for any sign of deceit, then hugged himself tighter and followed Cloud. Tifa sighed in relief and thanked the driver.

"Not a problem, miss. Be careful with 'em, they may look all grown up, but a lotta parts of 'em are still just kids. They're confused and lost, with no one but each other. Take care of 'em. We'll sure miss 'em down at the office, least ways I will." He turned to go, then snapped his fingers. "Oops, I almost forgot, doc didn't want me to give you this, but I didn't think it'd be right not to. Take these, keep 'em locked away for now." He lugged a box out of the front seat, and hande it to her. "It's their clothes, the old ones. And Souba." He grinned.

"What's Souba?" she asked, perplexed.

"The little one's sword, and it's a real piece of work, too. Good thing he didn't lose it, he was clinging to it like grim death when we found 'im. Maybe, someday he can get it back. Well, be seein' ya." He hopped back in the van, and offered one final wave as he rumbled out of the parking lot. Astonished, Tifa shrugged her shoulders and stowed the heavy box under the bar counter, and went up to check on the men.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was strange to be welcoming them into his house, but then again Cloud had done a lot of strange things in his life. "Like your hair," Yuffie would say, and then dodge his swing. The three brothers followed him silently up to the master bedroom, where Tifa had decided to let them have the king bed for a while rather than stuff them together on two twins. He opened the door and stood back to let them through ahead of him, but they just stopped, looking at him and then back at the door suspiciously. Cloud sighed, and went in ahead of them.

"You'll sleep here for now," he said, and then ran out of words. Loz nodded and stepped in, setting Kadaj gently on the bed. Yazoo followed, skittering past Cloud quickly and standing at the far corner of the bed. "I'll... I'll go get you something to sleep in," he fumbled, and then left the room quickly, suppressing the urge to shut the door behind him.

He met Tifa walking up the hallway. She touched his arm and whispered to him..

"Are you all right?"

He hesitated, then nodded slowly. "I'll be right back. Keep an eye on them, ok?" She smiled at him and stepped into the bedroom.

"Mother?" came a quavering voice from inside, and the hair stood up on the back of Cloud's neck. He turned to go back in, and then he heard Tifa's voice.

"If you would like me to be," she said softly. "Would you like that?"

"You're...you're not our mother," came Yazoo's uncertain voice.

"No, but I'll take care of you. I'll be your mother if you want one." Cloud edged towards the door and peered around silently. Tifa was approaching them slowly and talking in a soothing voice. Yazoo had come a little closer around the edge of the bed as if drawn to her.

"She's gone, isn't she?" he said in an unsteady voice.

Tifa stopped and hung her head before looking up at him.

"Yes."

Loz made a choking sound in his throat and Yazoo looked at the floor with an expression of abject misery. But Kadaj stared straight at Tifa with an unreadable expression for a long moment before turning his back on all of them and staring at the far wall. Tifa took a step towards Loz and reached a hand out to him but suddenly Yazoo was standing between them with a fierce protective gleam in his eyes. Cloud lunged around the corner and prepared to do something - he wasn't sure what - when Tifa's hand on his chest stopped him.

"Don't! Don't...They're just...uncertain." Cloud was sure she had meant to say frightened but stopped at the expression on the long-haired boy's face.

"Leave them alone, Yazoo." Kadaj's voice spoke up suddenly. Yazoo's staunch front crumbled around the edges. His voice trembled.

"But...Mother -"

"She's _dead_. And she's never coming back." His back was still to them, but Tifa heard the anger and grief in his harsh voice. Yazoo's head fell and Loz gave a choking sob as he slid down the wall and buried his face in his arms.

Tifa turned and tugged a completely non-plussed Cloud's elbow. He followed her numbly.

"We should leave them alone for a while. Do you have some old t-shirts they can wear or something?"

"Yeah, that's where I was going. That was pretty harsh, wasn't it?"

"You mean Kadaj? I can't believe he said that! Not to them!"

"Well, he's right. End of the reunion was the end of her, and going by that logic, technically it was his fault."

"No it wasn't! It was Sephiroth, it always is."

"You're right, but _he _may not think that."

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Kadaj tried to block out the sounds of his brother's sobs. When Mother had dominated his mind, his life and his purpose, Loz's crying had been like nails on a chalkboard, impeding their work and flaunting their weaknesses. But now every sharply drawn breath was a nail in his heart, condemning him for failing her, for letting _him_ die, for letting _her_ go. He forbid himself from comforting Loz whenever his brother cried. Every tear was a penance he had to pay, every sob was a lash of punishment. Yazoo always took it upon himself to take care of both of them when this happened, and somehow, seeing the sensitive, delicate face with such a crushed and empty expression was cruel enough to make Kadaj scream inside his head. But serving his own personal sentence was his only comfort, and Kadaj closed his eyes and said nothing. He only woke up screaming in the night.

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Tifa sat bolt upright in bed with a sharp breath, cold sweat standing out on her brow. _Wha-what?_ Her mind reeled and she tried to shake herself awake. She glanced over at Cloud, but he was out cold. _Maybe I imagined it..._

"_Motheeeeer!!!!"_

Chills ran up her spine as the thin anguished cry reached her ears. She stumbled out of the bed and reached for her robe.

"Cloud...Cloud!" _How can he sleep like that? He must've taken a Tranquilizer...Oh God, what is it now?_ She hurriedly wrapped a bathrobe around her nightshirt and ran down the hall to her bedroom where the boys were sleeping. The scene that met her eyes when she pulled open the door made the hairs rise on the back of her neck.

Kadaj was writhing around on his side of the bed, yelling for his mother in agonized sobs that wrenched Tifa's heart. Both his hands were fisted in the bedsheets and his face contorted with some indescribable pain, but no tears fell from his face. Underneath the noise of his screams she could hear Loz sobbing, curled up in the fetal position while Yazoo crouched wide-eyed and frightened on the floor beside the bed, a hand on his brother's shoulder trying to calm him. His eyes got bigger when he looked up and saw Tifa. He nearly tripped over himself in his rush to get to her and looked at her with a desperate pleading expression.

"He won't wake up, I can't wake him up!" he said, panicking. Tifa touched him reassuringly on the shoulder as she went to sit on the bed next to the thrashing silver-haired boy. With some struggle she gathered him to her chest and held him there, murmuring soothing nonsense and stroking his hair. He wrapped his arms around her and clung to her like a drowning man, sobbing for real now into her lap. She whispered quietly to him and reached an arm out to slowly rub Loz's shoulders. Yazoo came to sit on the edge of the bed, still trembling and looking in danger of tears himself.

"It's all right, it was just a dream, it's all right now," she said reassuringly. Yazoo hesitated a moment, then lay his head on her shoulder and threw his arms around her neck desperately. Kadaj's arms around her waist loosened only slightly as his crying began to quiet. Loz uncurled on his side of the bed and sat up hugging his knees. _They look so young_, she thought to herself, looking at them in their oversized t-shirts that made them look like the frightened little boys they were. Tifa shifted herself and the tearful Kadaj into the middle of the bed carefully; he wouldn't let go of her for a second. Yazoo and Loz settled in on either side of her, Yazoo's head on her shoulder. It would have been awkward, especially with Kadaj curled almost completely onto her lap with his face buried in her bathrobe, if they hadn't seemed so childish and vulnerable. She took it in turns to stroke their hair, rub their shoulders, and adjust their blankets until they fell asleep one by one, arms across her, looking like troubled angels in their sleep. Tifa stayed awake for a long time, sleepily stroking Kadaj's soft silky hair before she finally fell asleep listening to their gentle breathing.

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I miss Reno already, he'll be back soon! OR WILL HE...da-duh!!!drumroll please...


	7. Lie Down With Dogs

Ok, new installment, with too many clones. What am I saying? I wish I was buried in silver haired hot androgynous men, too! a dozen Kadajs fall from the sky on top of head AGH!! Fangirl overload! I have no breath and I must squee! Anyhow. Enjoy the chapter. Flames will be fed to my army of Ewok mercenaries.

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Cloud felt like it was taking forever for him to wake up. He knew he should try to raise a leaden arm and grab the counteractive Hyper on the nightstand, but the bed felt so soft and the house was so quiet for a change. He let his head loll to one side. Ten o'clock. Definitely time he got up._ Tifa must be up already, the bed's empty. I wonder how late our pals are sleeping. Do I ever remember Sephiroth sleeping?_ Reluctantly he hauled himself out of bed and absent-mindedly tugged his sagging, faded jeans up an inch. _Looks like I fell asleep in my pants. Where's my shirt?_ He wandered into the hallway rubbing his eyes sleepily and headed for the back laundry room to find some clean clothes. He passed the master bedroom at a leisurely pace, yawning, and glanced over. And stopped dead, staring in.

His tired brain slowly went through the motions, gears turning, switches flipping, until it finally registered that he was seeing TIfa, barely and nearly indecently clad in only a nightshirt, sleeping peacefully in a pile of male legs, arms and silver hair, her bathrobe abandoned on the floor. Slowly it became apparent to him that he really was seeing this, and yes, that was his jaw that had fallen off and was lying on the floor. Loz and Yazoo slept on either side of her, their fingers laced carelessly together over her stomach. Loz's chin rested on top of Tifa's head, but Yazoo was nestled perfectly between her neck and shoulder. Kadaj was on the same side of her as his young brother, but his head lay high up on her thigh, almost in her lap, with both arms and legs wrapped around Tifa's closest leg. To complete the strange picture, Yazoo had thrown his top leg over his brother's side and Tifa's leg.

_Úh..._ he thought._ Ten o'clock and I already need a drink. _ Tifa's eyes opened slowly and she tried to stifle a yawn so as not to wake the pile of boys. Her arm around Yazoo gently rubbed his back and the boy sighed contentedly in his sleep. Cloud made a restless motion in the doorway and her eyes rose. She smiled sleepily at him and managed a small shrug. _Go back to sleep,_ she mouthed at him, but he frowned and shook his head, edging into the room instead.

"I want them to get more sleep," she whispered.

"Fine, I'm going for breakfast," he muttered, wandering back out. Kadaj stirred restlessly and tightened his grip on her leg, a frown marring his face in his sleep. Reaching down, she slowly stroked her fingers over his scalp through the fine hair and gradually the worry lines faded and he relaxed. She smiled at him and sighed gently. When she raised her head again she saw Yazoo awake and watching her.

"Hi," she whispered, a little flustered. He only raised a long white finger to his lips, then pointed down at Kadaj. She nodded apologetically and he slowly moved his leg from over hers and his little brother and rolled to the edge of the bed. She was confused for a moment, then he put his arms around his brother and just stared at her. After a moment Tifa took the hint and climbed out of the bed. Yazoo turned back to his brother and settled him back in the center of the bed, pulling the blankets over him. Kadaj went immediately back to sleep, if in fact he had ever woken up in the first place, and Yazoo got up and walked to the hallway, Tifa following. He found his way down to the front bar and kitchen before turning to look at her with his odd green eyes.

"What's going to happen to them?" he asked her, a wary look on his face.

"Nothing. We brought you here to take care of you, that's all."

"That's all," he said mockingly, raising an eyebrow.

"I won't lie to you, people are worried about why you're here. They thought we should take you in to keep an eye on you. And to protect you."

"We don't need your protection," he snarled. "You killed our brother."

"And he's still weak, isn't he?" she countered, not bothering to refute him. "I don't think he should be moved again for a while do you? People aren't happy about you being here. I doubt even the three of you would survive long. Much less the two of you trying to protect that boy."

Yazoo didn't answer, only glared silently at her.

"Stay here for a while at least. I'm not asking you to trust us, I'm offering you somewhere to stay, food and shelter. At least until Kadaj is strong again. He maintained a sullen silence for several seconds more, then looked at the floor.

"Why does _he_ have to be here? I don't want him near Kadaj." He crossed his arms defensively.

"Who, Cloud? I think we better leave that decision up to your brother. This is Cloud's home, too." _Okay, so I lied a little_. "Please Yazoo, please just give it a chance, okay? We don't want to hurt you, no one will hurt you. Or your brothers. All right? I want to see Kadaj get better, too." His face softened a little as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Do...do you know what's wrong with him? They won't tell us anything, and we tried t-" he stopped suddenly and his face flushed as he looked over Tifa's shoulder. She turned, puzzled, and saw Reno standing in the doorway, eyes fixed on the silver haired boy.

Yazoo swallowed hard, and fled back up the stairs.

"Yazoo, wait!" she cried after him, but he didn't stop. "What on earth was that all about?" she asked Reno incredulously.

"Well, we _did_ try to kill each other last time we met, and he tortured Elena and Tseng nearly to death, and he tried to kill Rufus. But otherwise, I have no idea why he'd react like that. But I was sort of hoping _someone_ here would be glad to see me," he said rolling his eyes.

She obliged him with a rib crushing hug and he winced.

"I wanted you to _miss_ me, not try to kill me!" He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. "Looks like I'm calling the wrong girl 'princess.' he's almost prettier than you with all that hair..." he said and she swatted his arm.

"Don't make fun of him, Reno, he's been through hell and he's nervous and embarrassed. Besides, like _you_ have room to talk," she replied, tugging at his ponytail.

"Hey, that's a work of _art,_ he looks more feminine than _you_."

"Whatever. I've missed you. Where've you been? Or can't you say?"

"I'll tell you about it later, beautiful. Too nice a day to talk about things like that. Anyhow, how're the rest of 'em? Did it go all right?"

"Oh, pretty well. They came in late last night. It went ok until Kadaj had a nightmare or something, woke up screaming. I had to spend the night with them." Reno raised an eyebrow.

"If I didn't know better, Tif, I'd say you keep trying to make me jealous. First blondie, now you sleep in bed with three guys all night, dressed like that?"

"They're still kids, I doubt they even know what sex _is_. Besides, I hardly think it would be conducive to Jenova's will to teach them about it."

"Yah, well, you're off the hook this time. Where's Strife?"

"Cloud went for breakfast. Hey, I should get a shower, can you keep an eye on them for me? Just for a few minutes."

"Why don't you wait 'til Cloud gets back and _we'll _take a shower, and _he _can babysit?" he said quietly running one hand under the edge of her shirt. She smiled.

"Mother?" a low tentative voice asked from the stairway. TIfa turned in Reno's arms to see Loz standing at the foot of the stairs looking uncertain.

"Loz? What's wrong?" He looked at the floor and stumbled over his words.

"Kadaj... n-needs to eat..."

"Oh he's awake now?"

"Y-yes..."

Tifa reached out to raise his chin gently. "It's all right, Loz. You don't have to be nervous here," she said kindly. "It's like...starting over, see? What happened, it wasn't your fault, mostly anyway. You couldn't help it, you didn't know." Loz managed a weak smile and a nervous glance at Reno. Tifa shot him a look over her shoulder. Reno sighed, but acquiesced.

"Truce, ok? I don't wanna fight. Not drunk yet," he said with a brilliant smile. Tifa rolled her eyes and turned back to Loz.

"See? It's going to be all right. Just take it slow."

He nodded and sniffled once, but kept it together. "Ok, good. I'll see about some breakfast. Reno are you hungry?"

"Always, princess." Tifa snorted but hugged him again and gave him a kis before retreating behind the counter. Loz watched curiously, and Tifa, noticing, quickly changed the subject.

"Um, Loz how is Kadaj doing?"

"Resting. He's still...sick."

"What's the matter?"

Loz sat down on the bottom stair and hugged his knees in an endearingly childish posture.

"We were all sick, the Lifestream made us sick. But Kadaj was the worst. We thought he was going to...to die for a long time." He gulped and took a deep breath. "The doctor wouldn't tell us what happened, but Yazoo says it's because part of Mother was in us, and when brother killed Sephiroth - " Loz couldn't continue, and Reno finished for him.

"- he killed Jenova, too." Loz nodded, his head in his hands, shoulders shaking. Tifa knelt beside him and put an arm around him. "And no one had as much Jenova in them as Kadaj did." Blinking back tears Loz continued.

"But the Lifestream didn't make up for what we lost when it healed us. Kadaj is still so light..."

"Well we can definitely change that easily enough. Come sit by Reno, I'll get you some coffee. Do you like coffee?"

"Coffee?" asked Loz, bewildered.

"Kid, you have been missing _out_, yo!" laughed Reno, slapping him on the back. Loz flinched a little, but didn't react otherwise.

"_Regular_ coffee, Reno. At least until they're better."

"Aw, dammit."

"And no swearing!" she added, waving an eggshell at him.

"I think they're old enough ta swear, Tif. Look at this guy, anywhere else I'd guess he was a construction worker. He'll fit right in around here once he winds down a bit." Loz made tentative eye contact with him.

"You think we could be - normal?" he asked hopefully.

"If ya want to fit in around Midgar, maybe 'normal's too strong a word. But yah, why not?"

Tifa laughed and put two more eggs in the pan, grateful that they were getting along so far. She wanted to keep an eye on Reno at the moment though. After Rufus' missions he often came back...different. In a few days he was always back to normal, but until then he was quieter than usual, and serious. And Reno was never serious. He talked casually to Loz about getting a job, his own place, maybe dyeing his hair. Then she noticed he was keeping his left hand in his pocket, drinking coffee with his right. It wasn't unusual, he was ambidextrous, but he preferred to use his left hand and he had the smoker's habit of never being able to keep his hands still for more than a few seconds.

"Um, Loz? Can you go get Yazoo? Tell Kadaj I'll bring his up to him, breakfast's ready."

"Sure, I don't know if I can get him to leave Kadaj alone, but I'll try." He climbed the stairs surprisingly quietly for a man his size, then Tifa turned back to dishing out scrambled eggs.

"What happened to your hand?" she asked lightly, eyes fixed on the toast.

"Nothing," he said airily, tipping his stool back on two legs. Unfortunately, it tipped too far, and his hand shot out of his pocket to grab the bar rail before he could go over backwards and Tifa seized his wrist with an iron grip, and looked his hand over, turning it palm up. She met his eyes, confused.

"But then...why were you...You're hiding something, aren't you?!" Her face lit up mischievously.

"Hiding, from you? Nahhh..."

"Give it to me!" She reached for his pocket but he slapped her hand away playfully. "Ouch!"

"Ah-ah! No touchie!"

"Give it!" Tifa had half-climbed over the counter, tugging him closer.

"Never! You'll pry it out of my cold...dead...fingers..." he said menacingly. That was Tifa's cue to go all out. Her eyes narrowed and she pounced over the counter, knocking him to the floor and pinning him down. He launched a fist towards her chest, but she rolled to the side and was forced to loosen her grip. Reaching a hand behind her, she grabbed the foot of the stool and arced it over her head towards Reno's face. He blocked it easily and redirected it past him to smash against the floor beside him. He flipped up to his feet and kicked at her stomach, but she was already twisting up and around, grabbing his leg in mid swing and yanking it forward. He nearly lost his balance, then used her grip to brace himself and tackle her around the shoulders. With one deft sweep of her leg she reversed their positions and had him on the floor beneath her again. She had just cocked her fist back to punch him in the head when he held a hand up for a time out. They froze, out of breath for a moment, then broke out laughing.

"Tha's...what I like about ya...don't have to pull m'punches.. But here...you win this time..." He dropped his right hand to rest on her bare thigh below the t-shirt and the other into his left pocket. She smiled breathlessly as he held his secret up to her, and her eyes widened.

"Oh God, Reno that's...I..."

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Kadaj's eyes snapped open abruptly. He sat up and looked around wildly, but the only person in the room was Yazoo, sitting at the foot of his bed looking concerned.

"Kadaj?" his brother said questioningly.

_Kadaj...he can't help you, Kadaj.._. He looked up at his brother. _It won't do you any good to tell him, he can't help you._ Kadaj pressed his hands to the side of his head and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Shut up!" he hissed under his breath. Yazoo watched him closely.

"Is it...is it mother?" he asked timidly.

"Mother is _dead_," Kadaj snapped without opening his eyes. Yazoo flinched and continued to watch him sadly.

"I know," he said softly. "It's Sephiroth, isn't it." he said in a low voice. Kadaj's eyes opened slightly, then drew his knees up to his chest, burying his face in the covers.

"Why can't he leave me _alone_?" he asked miserably. "Mother's gone, he shouldn't be able to talk to me without mother," he choked out. "I don't understand, I want him out of my head, get him out...stop LAUGHING AT ME!!! Get out get out get out!" He sobbed into his blankets, rocking back and forth helplessly. Yazoo leaned forward and wrapped his arms around him, rocking with him and holding him silently. Kadaj gripped his arms tight and cried desperately, trying to block out the mocking laughter in his head. Yazoo's face grew hard.

"I _hate_ her," he said vehemently. "She _isn't _our mother, I _hate_ her, it's all _her _fault," he whispered fiercely. Kadaj looked up at him tearfully, shocked.

"But, Yazoo..."

"_No_, Kadaj. She picked Sephiroth instead of us, got you killed, made everyone hate us, and left us all alone. I _hate_ her. I want to forget she ever existed, that _we_ ever existed, and just start over." He squeezed his younger brother. "But she left him in your head. It's happening over again."

"No!" the younger boy cried out. "No, I won't do anything for him, I'll kill myself first!"

"You're not going to kill yourself, I won't let him make you do anything, I'll take care of you! Don't worry."

"I'll go crazy. I can't stand him being in there, with me, all the time, making snide little comments about everything I do, everything I see. I can't stand it!" Yazoo shook him hard for a second, until the hysteria wore off a bit.

"Stop it! You'll be all right, we'll find a way to get rid of him, ok? We'll take care of you. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"Yaz?" came Loz's soft voice from the doorway. "Is Kadaj asleep?"

"No Loz, come in." Yazoo said in a gentler voice. "Were you crying again?"

"No," he said defensively. "What's wrong?"

"Se-" Yazoo started, but Kadaj squeezed his wrist painfully hard and he stopped. "He just had a nightmare, that's all."

"Oh. Tifa says breakfast is ready. She wants us to come down. She said she'll bring food up for Kadaj."

"All right, go ahead down and eat, tell her I'll be there in a minute." Loz nodded and left the room.

"Don't leave me! Don't leave me alone," Kadaj pleaded, hugging his brother.

"Come down with us. I'll carry you, you can lie down on the couch down there. You won't get any stronger hanging around in bed thinking about _him_."

"All-all right. What if brother's down there?"

"We'll be with you, I won't leave you, Kadaj. I promise, ok?" Kadaj took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Ok."

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Yay! Angsty Kadajs! My favorite flavor! New update soon, beginning of next week? Yell at me if I don't have it done by then. Cheerio!


	8. Three's Company

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Drumroll! Hooray! Update!

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"Breathe, ok? You're freakin' me out."

"Reno..." Tifa was still speechless as she stared down at the delicate mythril ring and the bright clear stone set in the center of it. "This is awful fast, don't you think?"

"I could do it slow if ya want. Here goes: Ti. Fa. Lock. Heart. Will...You...Marry...Me." He grinned. "How 'bout that?" Finally she shook it off.

"Yes you wonderful idiot, yes!" She hauled him up off the floor and kissed him hard. When she finally let him go, he gave her one of his room-lighting smiles.

"Now, I've gotta cal all my ex-girlfriends and tell each and every one of 'em 'See? Reno can commit!" he said, sliding the ring gently onto her finger.

"You idiot!" she said affectionately, tugging his ponytail.

They were interrupted by a faint snort. Both looked over to see the three boys at the bottom of the staircase; Yazoo carrying Kadaj. Loz stared, Kadaj looked vaguely amused, but Yazoo just had a blank expression.

Then Tifa realized she was straddling Reno on the floor wearig little else but an old t-shirt that didn't cover much. She blushed furiously and stood up, stalking back behind the counter without looking up. Reno just grinned at them upside down from the floor, and that didn't do anything to help how insane he usually looked. Yazoo frowned, then took Kadaj into the living room.

"No sense of humor at all," Reno groaned, rolling over and getting up. "Ouch, Tif, that stool hurt," he whined, rubbing his wrist.

"Stool? What stool, dear?" Tifa said sweetly, handing a plate to Loz.

"What have I got myself into?" he pondered aloud.

"Oh hush. Since Kadaj is eating down here, will you move one of the small tables into the living room?"

"I've signed up for enslavement," the redhead sighed, easily heaving one of the oak tables off the floor.

"Hey, big guy, grab some chairs, will ya?" Happy to be doing something, Loz followed with four chairs. "Put one on that end, one on that end, and the other two on the side away from the couch so your bro don't get left out."

"Yazoo? Can you help me in the kitchen?" Tifa called from the other room. Yazoo glanced at Kadaj who gave him a panicked look.

"It's ok, I'll be right in the other room, and Loz is here. I'll be right there." He squeezed the boy's shoulder and reluctantly wandered into the kitchen.

"Could you take the juice to the table for me? Then just grab a seat wherever you like. Thank you," she smiled warmly at the wary man/boy. His expression thawed a little before he retreated back to the living room. Kadaj looked exceptionally relieved at his arrival, and kept darting suspicious looks at Reno, talking affably with Loz.

"Don't worry," he said seriously. "The chicks will dig ya, they just love sensitive guys." Loz looked clueless, but smiled anyway. Yazoo scowled.

"Ok guys, you can talk about women later, the eggs are getting cold." Reno sniggered, and she rolled her eyes. "Take some bacon, pass it around." Reno sat in one of the chairs across from Kadaj, and after a moment's hesitation, Yazoo sat on the end next to him.

"Loz, can you make up a plate for Kadaj, please?" Loz jumped up to help, having Kadaj point to what he wanted. Yazoo watched them protectively while they ate, barely stuffing it in his mouth and going back for another. Meanwhile, Kadaj had discovered bacon.

"What IS this?" he asked, with a mystified and ecstatic expression on his face.

"The first of the four food groups," Reno said with his mouth full. "The other three are beer, nicotine, and - "

"Reno!"

"I was just goin' to say... uh...more beer! Yeah, that's it."

Breakfast finished in relative silence, but without much tension. Loz and Reno helped clean up, while Yazoo hovered protectively over Kadaj who had dozed off again on the couch, legs pulled up under the old t-shirt.

They were just about finished when Cloud returned, carrying several bags. Yazoo was practically bristling with tension at his entrance, standing menacingly between him and his younger brother. Cloud just shook his head and kept his mouth shut.

"Hey Tif?" Tifa was in the midst of trying to explain the concept of dishwashing to Loz, and didn't hear him, but Reno's head popped up from where he was washing down the table.

"Yo, Strife! Whatcha got there?" he jerked his head at the bags.

_Rocks. Rocks to hit you with._ Cloud thought wistfully.

"Clothes." He dropped them on the nearest table and peered in a couple of them. "Here, give this one to Loz...Yazoo, I think these are probably your size, but your pretty close to Kadaj so I guess you can swap if you don't like them."

Yazoo looked doubtfully at the blue jeans, t-shirts and sweaters, but managed to mutter 'thanks' before returning to Kadaj-guard duty. Cloud glanced at Reno and made looked from him to Yazoo and back. Reno caught on and yelled to the boy.

"Hey, can you give me a hand with this?" Reno asked, nodding at Yazoo. He looked back at his brother who smiled sleepily and shrugged.

"Yeah, ok." He tried to keep an eye on his brother while moving the furniture, but eventually he had to leave the room. Cloud, feeling rather childish, snuck in.

"Kadaj?" The boy's eyes came open abruptly and looked frightened. "Hey, please...I'm not gonna hurt you. We're brothers, right? No more crazy stuff. Just brothers."

"But, Mother is gone. We're not brothers anymore, are we?" he asked quietly.

"Doesn't really matter, does it? We both havea chance to make up for...everything. There's not reason to fight anymore, that was never really about us, anyway. It was all Sephiroth. I never wanted to fight you." _Don't mention his mother_.

"But Sephiroth's gone now!" Kadaj said, almost hysterically. "All gone, no more fighting, right?"

"Take it easy kid, no more, I promise. It's all over. Everything's cool. Don't be afraid. We're here to _help you_. So don't worry." Kadaj's eyelids fell, and he seemed to be trying to find energy to respond. "Hey, listen. Why don't I put you back in bed, get some more rest, ok?" Kadaj hesitated momentarily, then nodded slowly, eyes closed.

"All right, come on then," he moved to pick up Kadaj up off the sofa, when he heard an angry cry and was knocked sideways onto the floor. Weak but determined blows rained on his shoulders and chest as he looked up to a curtain of silver hair. "Yaz!" shouted Kadaj.

"Don't touch him!" Yazoo yelled at Cloud, and the blond was so startled he didn't know quite what to do. Then someone grabbed the boy under the armpits and across the chest, hauling him off, kicking and thrashing.

"Yaz! Hey, psycho kid! CHILL, all right?" Reno was shouting in his ear, and the fraternal nickname seemed to bring him around a little. "Good kid, just take it easy all right? He's not gonna hurt him. They're just talkin', ok?" Yazoo relaxed into Reno's grip. "Ok, can I let you go now? Not gonna go crazy on me are ya?" The boy waited a minute to answer, glaring at poor Cloud still sitting on the floor and nodded. Reno let him go. "Ok. So he's gonna put sleepin' beauty back to bed, and you go with him but play nice, yo? I only kill people on weekends, an' it's Thursday." The middle brother stood still, his back to Reno's chest, with great difficulty while Cloud gently picked up his young brother, flinching when Kadaj winced a little, and then went to follow them upstairs. Reno's hand on his shoulder stopped him momentarily.

"A few things around here make Tif sad. One of 'ems fighting. Under no circumstances, ya get me? People out there are just waiting for an excuse to believe you guys are bad. And what makes Tif sad, pisses me off, understand? Good. Go take care of your brother." Chastised, Yazoo followed Cloud obediently upstairs. He watched, albeit sulkily, while Cloud gently set Kadaj on the bed and helped him slide under the covers. Yazoo waited at the door, arms crossed, hiding behind the silver that veiled his face. Kadaj muttered a thank you, and Cloud turned to go.

"Yaz? Will you stay with me?" Kadaj's voice quavered. Yazoo was silent. "Yaz?"

Cloud turned to around just in time to see Yazoo's eyes slide out of focus as he collapsed and fell to the floor.

"Yaz!" Kadaj cried. Reno appeared in the doorway.

"What the...dammit!" He dropped to his knees and shook the Remnant. "What the hell? Hey, kid!"

Yazoo's eyelids fluttered. He tried to move weakly. Cloud turned on the light and they saw how pale he had gone.

"Easy kid," Reno said to Kadaj, who ws practically falling out of bed trying to get to his brother. "Ok princess, up we go," he groaned as he picked him up and carried him to the other side of the bed. Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Princess?"

"Long hair, no beard, faints in doorways. Looks like a girl to me," Reno muttered under his breath. Kadaj scowled.

"It's not funny! What's wrong with him?"

"Just exhausted. He's not very strong to begin with. All the excitement. I had an ex-girlfriend does the exact same thing."

"What's going on?" Loz and Tifa stood in the doorway anxiously, looking past Cloud.

"He's tired, let him lie down for a bit, he'll be ok in a while. C'mon, everyone out, give 'em a chance to get his breath back." Reno herded all of them, including the reluctant Loz, out of the room and switched off the lights before closing the door.

Kadaj lay silent in bed, faint light tracing bars across the closed blinds. Yazoo looked exhausted. Tired as he was, Kadaj wriggled closer to him and hugged him.

"It's ok, brother," Yazoo said faintly.

"I know." Kadaj's voice was muffled against his brother's chest. "Why did you go after him like that? You're not strong yet. You'll get sick again. You need to get better."

"I can't ...couldn't let anyone hurt you. He hurt you before...I thought..." Kadaj hugged him harder.

"It's ok now. We're safe here."

"I won't let anyone hurt you, Kadaj." He fell asleep almost as soon as the last word was out, and his brother huddled closer before joining him.

"I know."

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Wow, Yazoo has told Kadaj twice in the last two chapters he's going to take care of him. Hope he lives up to it. It might kill him! I really hate writing sappy scenes, especially proposals, but I think that came out ok. Ironically both my stories on here have proposals, maybe I have a fixation? Anyhoo, thanks for reading, hope you likee! Read and review, and remember, flamers are on fire!


	9. If You Don't Have Anything Good to Say

So! New chapter! And about time you say! Indeed. Let the soap opera continue! ;) In which there is major awkwardness. And makeouts for everyone. FAIR WARNING: Don't freak out if you are a yaoi-hater, although there may be some mildly on the sidelines later this is not going to be a central part, or even going to involve the same people, the poor dude's just a little lost. I don't want to lose half of everyone when they go OMGGAYPEOPLEIMNEVERREADINGAGAIN sorta thing. I've seen it happen. In other news, Nectaris is shutting up now so you can get on with reading the darn chapter!

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Tifa managed to get Loz's mind off his brother's illness for a while. Reno Grumbled that it was an unfair use of cleavage, but surprisingly it was Cloud who took the initiative to show Loz around the Heaven. There was a moment of tension when Cloud showed him Fenrir, a look of regret and pain flashed across his face and he was quiet. Cloud didn't say anything for a second. He opened his mouth, then shut it again. Loz wiped his eyes. Cloud finally spoke.

"Check this out." He hit the switch in front and the forward panels swung open to reveal the gleaming swords in the racks. Despite himself Loz's eyes lit up. "Special order! Reconstruction job. When I bought it, this thing was a wreck. Took about half the gil I had saved up over the years, but it's worth it. Zero to a hundred kilos in five seconds, top speed 265 km/hr. "You wanna see the blade rack mechanism?"

An hour later, Tifa was starting to get worried.

"Chill, beautiful. I'm sure blondie knows what he's doing."

"It's not him I'm worried about." Reno groaned.

"All right, I'll go look. Could you- could you go see if the boys are all right? You seem to be the only one Yazoo trusts." The Turk scratched his head.

"I dunno about that. Maybe he just figures I'm too dumb ta lie to him." Tifa gave him a look. "Yeah yeah. First impressions, huh? I'll go see. Yell if ya need help."

"Likewise." She stood on her toes to kiss the tall redhead. She turned to go and was rewarded with a whistle and a sharp slap. She whirled around, blushing.

"Reno - ! ...Reno. I just realized I agreed to marry you and I don't even know your last name," she said incredulously.

"Well, uh... I don't really...know it." He tugged the end of his ponytail in embarrasment.

"You don't have a last name?"

"Oh yah, I've _got_ one, just never bothered ta remember it. Tseng knows, s'in my file. Jus' don't use it much, not too much paperwork ta fill out if you're...well...I don't hafta write it down ever. 'Reno' and 'Turk' s'enough ta get me pretty much what I need." Tifa shrugged helplessly and put a hand to her forehead.

"Okay, okay, we'll figure this out later. Go check the boys."

"'Kay." He gave her a quick hug and disappeared up the stairs.

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Yazoo heard the door creak open and saw Reno glance around from where he stood on the small balcony outside the room. He cracked the screen a bit to let some light in and show him where he was, and that Kadaj was asleep. He didn't think the redhead was a threat, just a bit odd. He watched him carefully as he wound his way through the room, gracefully avoiding furniture and fallen clothes. Wehn he joined him on the balcony, Reno drew the shade so the sun wouldn't get in Kadaj's eyes.

"Everythin' ok?"

"I don't know," Yazoo admitted.

"Ya got food, shelter, people carin' for ya, what's the matter?"

"I don't trust any of it. I don't know why they would want to help us. They hate us."

"I don't think so. An' I don't think your brothers think so." Yazoo was quiet for a minute.

"I've always had to take care of them," he said, looking sadly out over the street. "Kadaj is so young and scared and uncertain. And Loz is permanently naive, and so sensitive. I _have _to be suspicious, I can't trust anyone! They might get hurt...I'd never forgive myself."

"It's not like that here. Sure, blondie's a bit of a swelled head-case, and I'm too interested in livin' to tomorrow to raise a bunch of kids. But Tif's got a lotta heart, and Strife's not so bad. Some of the time." Yazoo looked unconvinced. "Look, just give 'em a chance. If it doesn't work out, I'll see if Rufus can find ya your own place."

"But I don't know what to do! I don't know how to get food, how to talk to anyone, how to do anything...anything but what _Mother_ taught us. We just _took_ what we needed before, and didn't have time for anything else," he said bitterly, hanging his head. Reno put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, uh...This comforting thing isn't really my, uh...thing, but I don't think you got anything to worry about. They'll take care of you." Yazoo looked up at him, then down at the floor.

"What about you?" he asked in a low voice. "You fought us. Do you hate me, too? Like all these people at Mideel that wanted to kill us?"

"I'm not like that. I've fought a lotta people. It wasn't personal, not until..." he looked out over the rooftops at the sun, and turned away.

"Not until Tseng and Elena." Yazoo bit his lip. "I- I'm sorry. We didn't want to, none of us wanted to!"

"Shut up kid, while you're ahead," Reno said tensely.

"No, please, someone has to understand this, just one person at least, needs to know that we didn't want any of this, you have to believe me." He swallowed a sob. "I'm sorry." Reno sighed.

"It's all right. You were just doin' your job. Me of all people should understand that."

"That's just it. No one understands why. I can't believe they've just forgiven us. Don't they know what we did?" Yazoo choked out.

"I know a thing or two about doing things people can't forgive. But it's done now. The only thing ya can do is live with it. Ya got a second chance, more than a lot of people get. Take my advice, take it and hold onto it. Use it." Yazoo sniffed and nodded sadly. _ Reno fidgeted uncertainly and gave him an awkward hug. I'm an idiot. I don't know the first thing about kids, what am I doin'?_ Yazoo rested his forehead on Reno's collarbone for a moment, eyes closed. Then, on an impulse he had never given in to before, he looked up, leaned forward and kissed the redhead softly on the lips.

Reno was paralyzed. His body would not move, his brain would not function. He was totally unprepared to handle this. Before he could respond, Yazoo was pulling back, shyly looking at him from between his silver bangs.

"Uh..." Reno managed.

"..."

"..."

"I- I..."Yazoo stuttered.

"-think you're a little... ah...confused," Reno finished lamely, backing away. Yazoo bit his lip and looked at the floor.

"I wanted to thank you. For, uh, helping us. Me. Us."

"Next time just shake my hand or somethin' ok? That's uh, something you do when you...uh...well..." For maybe the first time in his life, Reno blushed. "I'll tell you when you're older," he said firmly.

"Ok," Yazoo said quietly, totally confused and not quite understanding why Reno was so embarrassed.

"I, ummm, gotta go check on Tif. When you're ready, I'll, uh show you how to work the shower..." He opened the shade and stumbled through, nearly falling on his face, then tripped over his own feet. All the subtle grace was gone. Yazoo watched him go, and felt unaccountably sad. _At least he didn't wake Kadaj,_ he thought to himself as the door closed.

"What were you _doing_, Yazoo?" came the amused voice of his brother from the bed.

"Uh...I was, uh..I," he stammered, suddenly embarrassed without knowing why.

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Elena stood on the front porch uncomfortably, still dressed in Turk uniform. _I should've changed, I look like I'm here to arrest someone_. She knocked on the door hesitantly, then a bit louder.

"Just a minute!" came Tifa's warm voice through the door. It sank lower while she approached the door until she heard a muffled 'hold on a sec', and then the door swung open and Tifa smiled at her, a phone clamped between her ear and shoulder. _Sorry_, she mouthed.

"It's fine. Is Cloud here?" she asked quietly. The girlish voice on the other end of the phone suddenly jumped ten notches in volume and pitch and Tifa winced.

"Agh! Yuffie, my ears! Slow down, for Hades' sake! No, now is NOT a good time. Spring cleaning. Yeah, well I'm getting an early start. Listen, I'll call you back later ok? Ok? Yeahyeahyeahyeah ok bye!"

The voice on the other end continued until Tifa hung up.

"Oh thank God, you have wonderful timing. She wanted to stop in and I didn't have any idea what to do with her. Cloud? I think he's still in the garage, let me check. Come on in, I figured you were here for Reno." She set off through the maze of tables towards the back.

"Reno's here?" Elena asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, he's upstairs, checking on the boys," she called back over her shoulder, and Elena finally noticed that Tifa was wearing nothing but one of Reno's workshirts, characteristically rumpled in the unmistakable and seemingly permanent way that told her he's slept in it at least once. She shook her head and sighed. Tifa's voice echoed around the doorway.

"Cloud? Elena's here, she wants to talk to you." Elena blushed unintentionally and struggled to suppress it before Tifa came back. "He's coming, he'll be just a second. Can I get you anything? Some coffee?" A thunderous sound came from the stairway and Reno crashed into view and threw Tifa over his shoulder . She yelled and hit his chest with her fists as he laughed and held onto her legs. _Chocobo panties, nice_, Elena thought with a smirk. Then Reno noticed Elena standing there and turned bright purple.

"Uh, hey Laney, how's it goin'?" he said, leaning casually against the bar, totally ignoring the furious noises coming from over his shoulder. He yelped as she pulled his ponytail, and then smacked her hard across the chocobos. The devilish grin returned full force. "So, what're you here for? Business or pleasure?"

Cloud stepped in from outside at that moment and everyone turned to look at him. There was an awkward pause. Reno broke it.

"You have GOT to be kidding me." Elena blushed furiously again. He shook his head, and Cloud looked at the floor. "Ferget it. I'm goin' upstairs. Gotta reaffirm my heterosexuality."

"What?!" Elena blurted out. Tifa, dangling over his shoulder, didn't hear him.

"I _don't_ want to talk about it!" he muttered, stalking up the staircase with his prize still protesting loudly. Elena looked at Cloud and he shrugged.

"It's Reno," he said, and she found there wasn't really an answer for that. "I dunno, he's here all the time now. Like the roommate from hell."

"I'm sorry, at least you don't have to work with him," she said, and they both laughed.

"So, uh...how've you been?" he asked awkwardly after a moment.

"Good, I guess. You?" she said quietly.

"It's... uh, been a while. D'you, uh...still..."

"Cloud," Elena said, cutting off his stammering gently. "I'm just here for Rufus today. He has some questions I was wondering if I could ask you."

"Is that all?" he said in a low voice. She heard the hurt in it and put a hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know if this is a good idea..." she looked at the floor as he put an arm around her waist and pulled her in to him. Unwillingly, Elena leaned into him, and eventually put her arms around him and laid her head on his chest.

"So it's ok for them, but not for us?" he mumbled into her hair, with a gentle reproach in his question.

"Oh, Cloud..." she sighed. "Reno, he's different. When he leaves work, he's someone else. He drops everything that happened during the day, just forgets it. You remember that day in Wutai? He's like that all the time. Sometimes we go drinking, and people will keep staring at him, and we have to explain to him that...that he's got blood all over his shirt, or his nose is broken...things like that. He just...separates himself. I can't do that. After every mission I come back and lock my apartment door, take a scalding shower to wash everything off of me, disconnect my phone and just curl up in bed with the lights out. I've stayed there for days before. I can't live a normal life, I can't have normal relationships."

"So quit." he said, touching his lips to the top of her head.

Elena laughed sadly. "You don't quit the Turks. There's only two ways out: You die, or your fired. The catch is, they're the same thing. But you never need a retirement fund." She looked up at him. "I don't want to talk about work right now, okay?"

"I thought that's what you came here for."

"I don't need to report back til tomorrow, I'm off for the day, I've been working nightshifts all week. It can wait."

"So you're not going to interrogate me, then leave?"

"I might if you don't have anything better for me to do," she said, smiling at him slyly.

"How about I come back with you to your apartment and make you some tea?"

"Tea?" she asked in disbelief. "You want to have..._tea_ with me..."

"Is there anything wrong with that?" he asked innocently.

"No, I suppose not. Why not here?"

"You mean _besides_ that red-haired nutcase upstairs?"

"Maybe you just want a chance to skip out on me in the morning, like I did to you."

"No note, no phone call, I was so upset," he said dryly. She laughed.

"All right then, let's get out of here."

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Elena sighed with relief as she closed the door to her aparment behind them, locked the door, threw the four deadbolts, and armed the security system. She rested her forehead against the door for a second, eyes closed. She stood up straight and turned around, to see Cloud looking at her a little quizzically.

"Sorry, I don't mean to seem so psycho, force of habit." With a little wince, she turned off the security system, and gave him a weak smile. He looked out of place, with his jeans and old leather jacket next to the somewhat sterile atmosphere of her black and white living room. "Here, let me have your jacket." He shrugged out of it with the characteristic grace that didn't seem to suit someone his size, and she put hung it in the hall closet next to hers. They stood there for a moment, looking at each other, then away again shyly. "Umm, so let me show you around..." she said awkwardly. "This's the living room, over there is the kitchen, it's bar style so it looks a little more open in here since you can see through to the living room. The bathroom's through here..." she said, leading him down the hallway. He glanced in, and saw it was bigger than Tifa's bedroom, with an immense tub and a separate shower. "...and then there's just a small dining room over there. And the bedroom." She swung the door open to show him. He was surprised to see how different it was from the rest of the apartment. Soft, colorful cloth wall hangings draped the sides of the room here and there, and another lay on top of the bed. Carved wooden furniture that looked Wutainese sat by the window and against the opposite wall, and a hanging fern hung in the sunlight from one corner of the posted wooden bed frame.

"Wow," he said. "How come this is so much different?"

"I spend a lot of time here." she responded quietly. She looked at the floor. Cloud realized he'd said something stupid again and tried to cover it up. He put an arm around her shoulders slowly.

"You know, you look beautiful in the sunlight like that." _Where did that come from? I guess I finally picked up on Tifa's hints..._She looked up at him with bright blue eyes, and suddenly he realized she was going to cry. _Oh no..._"Look, I'm sorry..."

"Cloud you _ass_, don't apologize for giving a girl a compliment," she said, smiling and wiping her eyes. Totally at a loss, Cloud just stood there looking helpless. "C'mere..."

She kissed him, and he seemed to remember how to respond to _that_. "Wow, that didn't take much, did it?" she teased, smirking at him. He blushed.

"Sorry about that," he mumbled.

"Don't be," she whispered and leaned up to kiss him.

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"This is an unanticipated problem," Reno said seriously, contemplating the closed door to Tifa's bedroom. He carried her piggyback now, her long toned legs wrapped around his waist.

"There _is_ another bed you know.

"That's not the problem." he said turning around purposefully and heading towards the bathroom. "The problem is figuring out how I'm going to hold you up in the shower after I've been carrying you for so long." She giggled and he reached to open the bathroom door. "But I don't think it'll matter, it's been so long since I got la- _ohshit!_" He nearly dropped her on the floor in surprise as he yanked the door open to find Kadaj sitting on the edge of the tub looking at the faucets with intense concentration. "Ok kid, it's grownup time now-" Reno started, before Tifa slipped off his back and pinched the back of his arm meaningfully. The silver haired boy stared at them with a slightly puzzled expression.

"Do you need some help?" Tifa asked patiently.

"I just needed a rest, Yazoo fell asleep again, I wanted to get clean...I've been in a bed too long."

"I don't think you should try standing just yet, so how about a bath?" she asked, leaning past him to turn on the water. "I'll help you."

"Oh hell no," Reno growled, tugging her out the door by an arm to talk to her outside. "No way he gets a sponge bath before me, and NO way I'm leaving you in a room with that deviant while he's _naked_."

"Who's going to do it, then?" she asked forlornly.

"_I'll _do it, then there's no getting around it, I'm getting my shower one way or another, no more excuses. We'll put the kids back to bed."

"Why thank you, Reno!" she said cheerfully. He groaned.

"I just got shafted, didn't I."

"You walked right into it beautifully, handsome," she said, smiling mischievously.

"All right, all right, enough with the gloating. And don't put anything decent on while I'm gone." He kissed her hard and slammed the door before turning to face Kadaj. "You're not gonna try and mack on me, too, are ya?"

"What?"

"Good enough. Get in."

Reno was long past being shy, and Kadaj didn't know enough to be, so it was only minimally awkward for the redhead to get him into the tub and help him wash himself.

"Ya tryin ta tell me ya don't know how a bath tub works?"

"I know how it _works_," Kadaj bit back tiredly as the Turk rubbed his back with a washcloth. "Í've just never used one before."

"Ya musta smelled pretty bad back then, huh," Reno snickered, rinsing off the narrow shoulders with a handful of water.

"We did bathe, you know. Only we just went in the rivers and things. Nothing nice and warm like this." He closed his eyes appreciatively as the older man rubbed shampoo into the short silver hair."That feels good." He spluttered a bit when Reno dumped water over his head, and gave him a dirty look through his bedraggled bangs as if accusing him of trying to drown him. He leaned back against the wall of the shower/tub and relaxed. Reno flopped back against the opposite wall in the small space, and rested his elbows on his widespread knees.

"Five more minutes, then I'm draggin you outta here. I got things ta do," he added ominously, lighting a cigarette and flipping on the vent. "Don't tell Tif I smoked in here, yo?"

Kadaj was already asleep, his blue-green greyish eyes closed, and his thin body limp in the hot water.

"Jeez. Wish I could sleep like that," he muttered, and looked at the floor, letting the cigarette dangle from his fingertips. He sat like that for a moment, just resting, then looked up to check on Kadaj. His eyes were open and staring straight at him, and Reno jumped. "Jeez! Holy cow kid, you scared me." Kadaj just stared at him and Reno felt a chill go up his spine. "Hey, kid?" Then Reno realized. The eyes were grey. Grey and cat-slit. Kadaj's face smiled, but it wasn't Kadaj smiling. _Holy fucking shit, Sephiroth did not just come back in a BATHTUB after I gave him a spongebath what thefuckwhatthefuck..._ Then the eyes rolled back in his head and Kadaj slumped forward into the water. Reno just stared. "Oh, shit!" He jumped up and hauled Kadaj's face out of the water and slapped him lightly around the face. "Wake up kid," _I just imagined it. I'm tired and I've had a long day and too much fucking mako, I just IMAGINED it, he dozed off, so did I. Everyone knows I've already lost my goddam mind, a little more won't matter. Please wake up, please don't be_- His thoughts were interrupted when Kadaj shuddered and tried to push Reno's hands away. He huddled up against himself for a moment, then looked up at the Turk in horror.

"Oh no..." he said in a terrified whisper. "Oh no, oh no please don't tell Cloud, _please_!" he begged, gripping Reno's forearm desperately. "Please, they'll kill me again! I can't...I can't go through it again, I'll get rid of him, I promise!"

Reno felt a cold chill in his spine again._ It wasn't just a hallucination_. "You _knew_ this was happening?"

"J-just recently, please, please h-help me. I'll do anything! I'll go away, far away from everyone so I can't hurt anyone." Reno held up his hands in a placating gesture.

"Look, kid, chill, I'm not going to tell anyone. Ok? Ok. Don't worry about it right now, I'll think of somethin'. Just...let's get ya dried off and back in bed, all right yo?"

He nodded weakly. Reno lifted him up out of the cooling water and set him on the edge of the tub while he toweled him off. He smirked a little and grabbed Cloud's bathrobe off the wall and wrapped the boy in it, then picked him up and set him back in bed next to his brother. Kadaj smiled pitifully at him and laid his head on his sleeping brother's shoulder.

"_Don't worry, ok?"_ he said quietly, before shutting the door behind him. "I'll be doing enough of that for both of us," he ended with a grim expression.

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Sorry about the delay, I left my lousy excuses for the end in case you want to skip them. EXAMS! PAPERS! MIDTERMS! AGHHHH!!! But mostly that is over. And here comes finals...Yippee friggin skippy... I managed to make this chapter a bit fluffier, they've been heavy on drama lately. And Reno hasn't gotten laid in a while.

And before everyone yells at me, yes I know Sephiroth's eyes are green in the game. Watch closely in the movie, they are grey there. Since this is an AC fic, I figured I'd go with that. Don't believe me? I have a picture to show you. Does anyone know the correct manner in which to express 'Wutai' in its proper adjective form?

And huge fluffy Red XIII plushies for chelseaheckabad who I just realized has only two favorite stories, one of which is mine. Oh man, I can't screw up now, oh the pressure! sweatdrops Thanks for all the helpful reviews everyone, have a wonderful day!


	10. What's the Matter With Kids Today

Hello all! Sorry for the long delay, the writer's block finally died of a heart attack and I wrote almost all of this today! More coming. Please refer to story warnings, the forecast is cloudy with a 100 chance of AGH. Thanks for all the yummy reviews, you people rule! And a cute little stuffed Sephiroth with angry eyes for MissQuestionMark who I forgot to mention faved my story too, with just two others! (Blush) Huggles! Remember kids, flamers are on fire!

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Rufus Shinra stared out the window and down into the trees for a long time, contemplatively tapping his fingers on the glass. A blur of blond bangs obscured his view for a moment, then the arm that wasn't leaning against the window rose up and brushed them back again. He continued to stare for a few more moments, until they tumbled back down onto his face and he turned away from the window with a sigh as he tossed them away.

"You're sure about this?" he said quietly, looking across his desk at the redhead lounging on the couch.

"Yah, I'm sure," Reno replied gravely, grateful at least that Rufus hadn't blamed his report on Mako or alcohol or a combination of the two. "And the kid is sure, too. He knows it's happenin'. Don't seem too happy about it either."

"It isn't that I'm surprised. These things do have a way of happening over and over again. However, it seems doubtful he would choose the same vessel twice."

"The way I see it, the kid's weak. Can't fight him off. It makes sense that he's using him. What doesn't make sense is the lack of Jenova." Reno propped his arms up above his head and settled a little further down into the white leather couch. Rufus continued to pace at an agonizingly slow speed that defeated the entire purpose of pacing. "The doc said they lost all the Jenova cells somewhere between death and reincarnation. The actual physical presence of Jenova's gone, s'why they lost so much weight. But if there's no Jenova, what's he usin' to get in, sir?"

"For now, until we find that out, I don't want anything done to him. And I don't want any of them informed about this. Not _anyone_, Reno." The emphasis was slight, but Reno's jaw tightened a bit and he nodded in comprehension. "Cloud Strife has a history of handling things without much…tact. I want you to watch all four of them, particularly Cloud and Kadaj."

"Can't be there all the time, Tif expects me to be gone a lot of the time for work."

"No, but as often as you think you can be there without arousing suspicion, that's where I want you. In the meantime, and whenever you need to be out of there for a time, you can work with Elena, she's finishing up some important loose ends and she doesn't quite share your enthusiasm for the work."

"Is she failing in her assigned task, sir?" Reno asked, barely hiding the sudden tension he felt. But Rufus shook his head.

"No, all of her directives have gone through. She just lacks your …fervor. Her current assignment would almost definitely be completed well before the deadline if you could give her some assistance."

Reno nodded silently in understanding.

"I expect there is no need for me to advise you to continue exactly as I instruct in this assignment without regard to the possible outcomes." It wasn't a question. The redhead swallowed, but didn't look away.

"Yes, sir."

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"He's ready. He's fully recovered and he's bored out of his mind sitting in here."

"He hasn't said so to me," Tifa side-stepped stubbornly.

"He's too polite and shy for that, and you know it," Cloud argued back. "Look, Loz needs something to _do_, he's farther along then the rest of them, and I've got a backlogged client list like you wouldn't believe from hanging around here for three weeks. Let him come to work for a week, if he flakes out, I'll bring him back. If he doesn't, we give him some free rein."

Tifa looked torn. "I know, I don't like keeping them confined here, either, but so many things could go wrong with this. What happens when people start seeing them out in public? And the first time someone says something to Loz that he doesn't like, and he throws them through a wall? Or if you get separated? They don't know how to navigate out there without some alien intelligence as a back-seat driver. Anything can happen."

"Yeah, well _nothing_ is going to happen if we don't get them out of here for a bit. They won't be any better off than they were in Mideel. You wanted to bring them here, well this is part of what you're going to have to do to take care of them. They can't stay in here forever, Tif. Even Kadaj is getting restless, and he could barely _walk_ last week. Besides, you know as well as me that the big guy's more likely to start crying than to start a fight. He'll be fine."

"I know. I guess you're right." She sighed, then straightened her shoulders resolutely. "Ok, you can take him. But not too far out, I don't know what will happen when we separate them. Yazoo is still so suspicious of everyone, if Reno isn't here I can hardly get him to let me near Kadaj."

"No problem, we'll stick to the island for now, if he's ok after a week maybe we'll go as far as Costa del Sol."

"You'll come back this time, right?" Tifa joked, but it sounded weak even to her ears. Cloud put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"Promise. No more loner-hero stuff," he said, and she smiled. "I'll go talk to Loz, gotta see about making him stand out a little less." He turned to go.

"Cloud," she called after him suddenly, then she blushed slightly. "Don't be gone too long ok?"

He returned her gaze with a sad expression.

"Barret can't stay mad forever. And kids miss their mom. Be patient, they'll come back. I heard Barret was staying in Kalm, maybe I'll drop by."

"Thank you."

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"You look like an idiot."

"Kadaj, be nice. You look fine, Loz. I wouldn't even recognize you on the street."

Loz scratched his newly dyed scalp uncertainly, but smiled. Yazoo just shrugged.

"I'm not dying _my_ hair," he said definitively.

"Me either," echoed Kadaj.

"You don't have to. We just thought it might make things easier on Loz his first time out of the house." Tifa put a comforting arm around Kadaj's shoulders. "He won't be gone long, I made them both promise."

"I'll bring you back something from Kalm," Loz mentioned by way of a peace-offering.

"Or you could stay here until 'daj could travel and we could _all_ go," Yazoo said with his arms crossed.

"Yaz," Kadaj remonstrated quietly.

"He shouldn't be splitting us up," the older boy growled.

"All right, that's enough." Tifa had brought the other two boys quite a ways since they had come to live there, but every time she thought they were making some progress, Yazoo would find some problem with it, accuse Tifa of trying to divide them, and they'd all backslide. "We're not trying to separate you and then brainwash you, or throw you back in the Lifestream, or anything of the sort. If we'd wanted to do that, we would have done it two weeks ago when you got here too weak to fight. I don't want to hear ANY more about this conspiracy theory stuff, and Yazoo, stop blaming your brother for everything. It's not his fault he's recovered this well, and if he's ready to go outside and start living his life, you should be _happy _for him." Yazoo glared at the floor, but didn't say anything. Loz looked embarrassed, but Kadaj just looked bored. "Now all of you should concentrate on just trying to get better and settle in. If you weren't so worked up about everything Cloud and I try to do for you, Yazoo, you'd probably be strong enough by now to go with Loz."

"I wouldn't leave Kadaj even if I was," the long-haired boy shot back defiantly.

"You'd be helping him more if you were encouraging him and not sheltering him. He won't get better with you hovering over him and preventing him from doing anything." The boy looked shocked at the suggestion, and she used his silence to press the point home. "If you want him to get better, maybe you should start letting _all _of us help him, not just you." Loz seemed like he couldn't decide if he should start crying, and settled for looking worried instead.

"I- I think she's right, Yaz," he said tentatively.

"What would _you_ know about it, Loz? You've been on their side ever since we got here, it's like you don't even care about Kadaj anymore. You just go off by yourself with your new _hair_ and your new _friends _and your new _life_. It worked just like they've been planning, and now you split us up." Angry at being singled out, Yazoo lashed out viciously at his cowering older brother.

"Yazoo!" Tifa started to say, but Kadaj finally spoke and stood straight up out of the chair.

"Stop it Yaz! I don't need you to protect me anymore! I don't want you protecting me! She's right, and Loz is right, and you're wrong!" He shook from the effort of standing and yelling.

Yazoo's mouth dropped open. Tifa saw the expression of profound pain and frustration in his eyes for a moment, then he turned and ran out of the room. She was speechless. Kadaj dropped back into the chair, trembling. Loz held his head in his hands, gripping his hair like he was going to tear it out by the roots.

"Kadaj, what….why…" she stammered. "I never thought that you didn't want him around, I would've…well I assumed…"

"I _don't_ want him to leave," he said miserably. "I don't think there's anything wrong with what he's been doing at all."

"But then, why did you say that? You really hurt him."

"Because he's never going to listen to you. He'll probably never trust you completely, no matter how much you want him to. And he's always looked down on Loz, it just made him angry when he said that because he thinks Loz isn't smart enough to pass judgement on him." Loz made a strangled noise behind him. Kadaj didn't pause. "I hope you are right. I hope it helps him to not be bothered with me anymore," he said bitterly. "Because I doubt he's going to talk to either of us after this."

"I'm…I'm sorry, Kadaj. I didn't realize he was so-"

"Paranoid?"

"Well, yeah. I guess that's the word. What will he do now?"

"I don't know. He's never been alone before. None of us have. There's always the fall back. Or…" he didn't finish, but Tifa understood the reference to the voices that used to be in their heads.

"Should I go talk to him? Will that help? Or Cloud maybe?"

"Just leave him alone for awhile. Leave _us_ alone."

Hurt but guilty, she didn't know what else to do. She went downstairs, made a cup of tea, and stared at the table in consternation. She heard Kadaj say some quiet things to Loz, and soon he stopped he crying. Cloud came in from the garage, wiping greasy hands on a cloth, and looked at her curiously.

"What's up?"

"I'm just not _ready_ for teenagers, Cloud," she replied morosely.

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Yazoo was out the back door and well down the back alleyway before he started crying. There had been the brief hesitation at the door, but that was easily overcome by the angry swell of emotion against being held hostage, and once he was past it, he sped up. He ran faster, tears and long silver hair obscuring his vision, completely indifferent to and oblivious of his surroundings. He finally stopped when he ran out of breath and a sharp pain in his side reminded him of his long period of inactivity. Shivering he dropped to the ground and wrapped his arms around his knees in abject misery, sobbing for breath.

How _could _they? How could they turn Loz against him? He had been the only one to realize what they were really after, and his own brothers refused to listen to him. He hated that woman. She acted so nice, she pretended to help them, but she was just manipulating them. They were always being manipulated. But Yazoo wasn't going to let that happen to his brothers again, or him. He had tried to show them, tried to keep them from going along with it. But Loz got sucked right into it. He should have known. He was completely gullible when someone was nice to him. Kadaj used to bait him, start by saying something friendly, or offering to share something. Loz would get hopeful, and respond, then Kadaj would cut him down scathingly. Yazoo used to yell at him for it. But he was the one yelling at Loz now, and Kadaj was the one disciplining him for it. He felt a strong wave of self-loathing, that didn't do anything to help his misery.

How could Kadaj _say_ those things? All he wanted was to help his little brother, he never did anything for himself, he was only trying to help Kadaj and keep people from hurting him. And his brother had thrown it back in his face. He was alone now. Totally alone. He pressed his face into his arms and angrily tried not to cry or panic. Cloud and Tifa had won over his brothers, and now he was the odd man out with nowhere to go.

"Hey. You." The rough voice roused him, and he glared upward at whoever had interrupted his moment of self-pity. He didn't see the face that went with the voice, just the dark blur that crashed into his jaw, knocking him flat back on the pavement. His head spun and he gagged on the sudden rush of hot blood from his lip. He dragged himself up onto his palms and spit it out.

"Won't fight with someone bigger than a kid, huh?" a voice mocked, but this one was from a woman.

"Tifa?" he slurred, raising his head painfully. He peered through his hair at the dirty-faced woman standing a few feet away. And at the man beside her. And at the men next to him. And all the other people standing in a circle around him. "No, wait-"

He didn't get to finish, because someone behind him kicked him hard in the lower back, and he went sprawling onto his chest. Past the ankles of the people in front of him, he could dimly see a lump of twisted, half-melted metal dozens of feet long lying in a circle of concrete. Recognition flared, and horror.

The voices swelled, and the mocking, angry, jeering blurred into one giant roar.

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"I don't know what to do about him, he just seems so unhappy and suspicious, and Kadaj says there's nothing I can do about it. Did you see him come down here?"

"Nah, he's probably sulking on the roof, that's where Denzel used to go." Tifa shot him a look. Cloud shrugged. "I followed him a few times, wanted to make sure he wasn't going to get hurt." That earned him a look of maternal pride. "Anyway, he's probably fine. Don't worry about him."

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The pain was not a surprise. He was used to pain, pain from Sephiroth in his mind, pain from not obeying Mother directly, pain from Kadaj when he had his temper tantrums. And pain from the Lifestream and the stigma. It was dull, most of it. He curled into a ball and waited for it to end, only he knew it wasn't going to end. It was going to go on until he died. With the massive overwhelming sound of people around him and the unending rain of kicks, punches and blows, he knew it wouldn't be that far away.

He couldn't stop the screams from coming sometimes, when the dull pain spiked into a single sharp one. When his ribs broke. When someone stepped on the inside of his knee and pressed brutally. When he was kicked forward, and a piece of his hair stayed under the foot of someone behind him. It went on forever, but he just waited, because it would end, and when it did, _all_ the pain would be gone. He let himself go limp.

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Reno saw the crowd of people first, they were standing where the Midgar Monument used to be, all shouting and yelling.

"Yo, 'lena. There some kinda thing goin' on downtown today?" he asked suspiciously.

She didn't look up from where she was pushing irritably at her PHS. "Damn thing, it was working yesterday, I _just_ want to check my _stupid_ messages! Not now, Reno, we don't have time for a detour. Did you hear me? Reno?" She looked up but he was already running flat out for the throng of people. "Dammit Reno! We don't have time for this," she muttered under her breath, stuffing her PHS in one pocket and putting a hand on her concealed magnum beneath her jacket, rushing to keep up. When Reno found trouble, it was often just something that was of interest to him, but sometimes his hunches were alarmingly closely tied to the mission. So Elena gave up trying to shepherd him along and just went with it.

She was well behind him when he hit the outer edge of the crowd, shoving and pushing people aside and to the ground.

"Get the _fuck_ out of the way!" he snarled when he hit particularly stubborn knots. It wasn't your typical crowd control though, he thought as he looked at the faces around him. There wasn't any fear or dismay at his presence, even though a Turk just walking by was often reason enough for people to disperse. No, these people were _angry_, furious, totally caught up in whatever they were doing. It made the hair stand up on his neck.

Getting through the last few feet was almost impossible, but a few surreptitious jolts of the EMR loosened the concentration up considerably. Now people were beginning to look at _him_ that way, and Reno knew he was going to have to play this one smart to get away with it. He battered his way through, and nearly fell over the center when he got there. His heart stopped for a second. There was blood everywhere. All over the ground. All over the clothes of the sad, limp form in the middle of this ravening mob. And soaking through the long silver hair that covered his face.

"_Yaz!_" Reno yelled so loudly that even the few people stubbornly still hitting at the boy stopped and looked up. Adrenaline flushed through Reno's chest and he saw red. He planted a foot on either side of the boy's body and whipped out his EMR into full view, prepared to break as many heads as he had to. The crowd got quiet. They didn't back off. The faces were still angry. They were all looking at him. There was a long, tense, silence. Reno waited. No one stepped forward. No one stepped back. Yazoo still hadn't moved.

"I _said_ back the fuck up before I _shoot_ you, you stupid bastard," came an irritated feminine voice from just outside the circle. Elena stepped through the crowd, both hands on her gun, steadily pointing it around the circle. She moved up to Reno, and stood with her back to his, still keeping the gun up. Reno shoved the EMR through his belt loop and bent down to pick up the boy. He walked resolutely towards the wall of people in front of him. For a moment, no one moved. When he was nearly touching them, they grudgingly admitted space enough for him to shove past them. Elena followed, walking backward, silently and coldly watching them over her gun sight. No one spoke.

Reno walked forward resolutely, and the crowd reluctantly parted to let him through, but closed immediately behind him. He kept walking. He cleared the edge. It seemed to be taking forever to get out of the square. Blood had soaked through both his sleeves and his shirt front, sticking them to him.

"They're following." Elena said quietly from behind him, still acting as rearguard.

"Fuck 'em. They can't have him."

"Where are we going to take him?"

"Home." He walked steadily onward, through the main street, down the back alleyway, and into the house, where Elena firmly slammed and locked the door.

"For all the good it'll do," she muttered, looking at the mass of people surrounding the bar.

Tifa heard the door slam and poked her head around the corner as Reno carried Yazoo into the living room. She turned white and her hand flew up to her mouth.

"_Oh god_," she couldn't speak for a moment and ran to the side of the couch where Reno laid him. "Is he…oh please tell me he's not dead. He can't be, he can't, what happened?!"

"I don't know," Reno said grimly. "He went out. Into the middle of the city. The Midgar Monument." He leaned over Yazoo, checking for a pulse and wiping away blood with his jacket sleeve to see the extent of the damage. "He's alive. For now." Tifa still stood there, in shock. "_Tifa_. The materia. Now. Go," he said sharply, shocking her out of her stupor.

She stumbled into the kitchen, fingers fumbling over the lock set into the side of the false refrigerator.

"Tif, what gives?" Cloud said, confused.

"They got Yazoo," she said in a shaky voice. "He went outside and they caught him, and, oh God Cloud, please help me get this thing open!" she cried frantically, twisting at the combination. Without a word he rushed around the counter, pushed her gently aside and flicked at the dials, pulling the front open and exposing all the materia. He shoved potions into her hands and pointed her towards the living room, gathering up Cure materia as she ran out.

Reno took the bottles from her immediately and forced open Yazoo's bloodied and swollen lips, pouring the potion down his throat. The boy coughed weakly and tried to move his head away, but Reno held it there and motioned for Tifa to give him the next one.

"Elena. I need you to hold his head still. _Elena_." Reno looked up in aggravation. Elena was looking past him. At the bottom of the stairs, at the other two brothers. Her face was frozen.

"_Tseng,_" he just barely heard her whisper, he noticed she was still holding her gun.

"Hey, uh, 'Lena? Now is not a good time. Could you go check on the psychos outside? Please? Like, right fuckin' now?" Reno covered his panic and grabbed the other potion from Tifa, forcefully resuscitating the boy.

The brothers were not at a loss either, both of them stood still, Loz looking at his brother with panic and straining to get to him, Kadaj holding him back and watching Elena.

"ELENA!" Reno yelled sharply. "That was an _order_. Get _with_ it, Turk."

Elena shook her head angrily, as if trying to clear her head, then turned and strode quickly out onto the front porch, weapon at the ready.

"Jeez, that's the last goddam thing I needed," Reno muttered, as he propped Yazoo up so Cloud could use the healing materia. Kadaj let Loz go, but stopped him from getting too close.

"Stay out of the way, Loz, just wait."

"While you're at it, make yourselves useful and pray," Reno grumbled to himself.

"He's moving," Cloud said, as the last of the green light faded. "If we need to do it again, it's gonna have to be one of you, I can't do anymore today."

"What?"

"That was four of the highest Cure you can get, and a Regen spell on top of that, I can't do anymore." His face looked drawn even as he said it. "It takes too much energy."

"Why isn't he getting better?" Tifa asked, panicky.

"It's blood, I don't know how bad the injuries actually are, he's got too much damn blood on him," Reno replied tensely. Cloud sat back against the wall and closed his eyes, resting, and Loz moved to the head of the couch, anxiously looking down at his brother.

Kadaj disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a bowl of water and a dishcloth, then offered it to Reno.

"Thanks kid. Have a seat before you fall down." Kadaj shook his head and knelt next to Loz on the floor.

"It's not so bad, now, look," Reno said to them, as Tifa watched over his shoulder. Swelling's gone down already, those cuts are closing, scrapes are fading. Nice work, Spike-head." Cloud grimaced weakly. "It's gonna be a while more though, looks like he's got broken ribs, definitely a serious concussion, maybe more. Let him lie for a while, keep an eye on him," he said as he finished his appraisal, then stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"Check on the rookie," he mumbled to himself. "Back in a sec."


	11. Between a Rock and Another Rock

Believe me, I know I dropped off at a really bad point, but I haven't had internet for a MONTH. Aggravation. Anyhow, this is a decent sized chunk I've gotten done in the meanwhile, and I'm editing the next chapter NOW.

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"Elena?" Reno poked his head into the hallway. Elena stood at the end, looking out the back door, magnum lowered but still at the ready. She didn't turn when Reno called her.

He stepped around next to her and glanced out the door at the milling people. He looked back at her stony expression. The redhead gritted his teeth. "Are ya fit for duty?"

She didn't respond for a few moments, preferring to continue in silent surveillance. Finally, she dipped her blond head in a stiff nod, still refusing to look at him.

Not really having anything to say, Reno sighed loudly and leaned against the door jam.

In the dim hallway, he watched her silhouette as the shoulders slumped. She turned her head slightly so he could see the profile of her face.

"Not all of us can forget so easily, Reno," she said quietly.

"Ya think I did? Ya think I don't remember the cave?"

She heard the pain in his voice, but she had no comfort to spare him. She didn't have the energy to tell him again that she didn't blame him, didn't have the energy to explain that he hadn't been with her while she was tortured. She was too tense and angry and sad to admit that all of them had been through the same thing, at one time or another.

But self-pity was a luxury that required too much focus and preoccupation. So she settled for ignoring it and staring clinically ahead at the force outside, assessing, calculating, observing. The denial felt good, too. The emptiness was another kind of self-pity, and it was comforting right now. Elena didn't answer him.

"I'm sorry, kid. We're kinda stuck here for now. Least until I can figure out how we're going to get outta here. I don't think they're just going to sit out there forever." Elena remained silent. Reno sighed again. "Lemme know if anythin' changes out there, I've gotta go take care of the kid." He turned and left, and she shut her eyes tightly for a moment. _To rest them for a moment_, she said to herself. She opened them again and continued to wait.

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Reno walked back to the living room, pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off a headache. _Sobriety doesn't agree with me._ Yazoo was apparently still unconscious on the couch, and looking very rough despite the cleaning up and the healing. Tifa looked frightened, and the other two boys sat morosely beside their brother, Kadaj unconsciously leaning against his red-eyed older brother.

"What happened?" Tifa asked him.

"Bunch a people attacked him in Midgar Square, dunno what went on before that, but they were gonna kill him. They're out back now, probably got us surrounded. What the hell was he doin' outside?" He regretted asking for a moment, as Tifa's face fell and Kadaj trembled. Surprisingly it was Loz who answered.

"We had a fight. He ran away." He looked at his unconscious brother sadly. "Are we going to die now?"

_Maybe not just you, specifically,_ Reno thought, nervously thumbing the EMR stuck through his belt and thinking of all the enraged faces.

"No," said Tifa fiercely. "No one is going to hurt you." Yazoo wasn't in any state to mock her ironic comment, and she was too distressed to notice it herself.

"I dunno how to get out of here, Tif, and Reno ain't exactly the adored spokesman of Shinra, ya know," the Turk commented dryly. "It's not likely they'll leave on their own, and it's not anymore likely if I say 'please.'"

"Where's Elena?" Cloud spoke up from by the window.

"She's-" Reno hesitated, but told him anyway, against his better judgement. It was too tempting to have an excuse to get him out of the room, and maybe snap Elena out of it at the same time. "Back hallway," he said, with a jerk of his head.

Cloud got up and left without another word.

"Maybe this is one Cloud and I can get us out of. I mean, stopping Sephiroth and Meteor has to count for something still, right?" Tifa looked desperately at Reno. He shrugged.

"I dunno. I'm not really in tune with the public mood. I s'pose it's worth a shot. Can ya get him to do it, though?"

"I don't see that we have a choice. I know he hates being in public, even more so when people are paying attention to him, but we're really in trouble if we don't try something," she observed, peeking out of the curtain at the milling, grumbling crowd.

"Yah, I hate ta break up their party, but I think sooner is better than later. You gonna do it or should I?"

"Maybe it's better if I do it," she said, smiling. "I mean, you have such a way with words, but…"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "I know, I'm an asshole. Go get him."

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"Elena?" Cloud said quietly, while he was still a good distance away from her. Not startling her was something he'd learned quickly; his ribs still ached from the amazingly swift elbow she hit him with when he'd come up behind her to surprise her with an early morning hug.

She looked over her shoulder at him briefly, then looked back out the door quickly. "You ok?" He reached out to slowly rub her shoulders and she sighed shakily. He took the cue to put an arm around her waist without obstructing her view or gun arm.

"It's just hard, Cloud. It's hard to see them again, be in the same house with them. All I wanted to do was kill them myself, with my bare hands, and now here they are, and I can't touch them. I need to play nice." She shook her head.

Cloud nodded silently. He knew. He had slept next to her twice now, and if it

was any indication of how she normally slept, she woke up in screaming nightmares on a regular basis, then locked herself in the bathroom for an hour or more before returning to bed and his arms.

"Maybe they are different now," she said in a flat tone. "Maybe they've been mystically _redeemed_ by the planet, or some god. But when I saw that boy lying there, covered in blood, almost unrecognizable, I was happy. I was happy, Cloud. I looked at that pitiful, miserable, helpless kid and for a moment I just thought, 'Now we're even. Almost. If that happens to you every day for weeks until you think you're going crazy, then we'll be even. Then I'll stop hating you so much.'" Cloud didn't say anything, just pulled her in closer. "Shouldn't you be trying to talk me around?" she said dully.

"Why? I don't see anything wrong with what you think. I'm not going to tell you you're supposed to _like_ them after that. I'm surprised you're not pissed at Reno for being so close with 'em."

"Reno is…different. It's hard to be angry at him for anything, he's got his own weird sense of justice, so if he's dealing with it, then I guess he's got a fairly good reason. It's still too soon for me. I'll do my job, I'm not going to go off the deep end and start vengeance killing, but I'll believe they're safe when I see proof."

"Well, he came pretty close to dying just now. I don't think they're very dangerous."

"No, not yet they're not." Elena said grimly, gripping the gun tighter.

"Cloud?" Tifa's apologetic voice crept around the corner before she followed it, giving them fair warning. Cloud didn't remove his arm, he just turned to look over his shoulder.

"What's up, Tif?"

She approached hesitantly. "We were thinking, and maybe if you and I talk to them, we can get them to go away. Just try to convince them everything is all right." She winced even as she said it, as Cloud's face darkened.

"Play the hero card, you mean," he said bitterly. Elena gave him a little squeeze with her free arm and he un-tensed just a little. "It doesn't look like we have too much choice, does it?"

"I'd rather try it now, before they start throwing things, or trying to get in."

"All right, but I don't know if this'll work-"

"What are they doing out there?" Elena's voice cut him off, and she pointed with her weapon. There was a stir in the middle of the crowd, and some shouting, moving towards the front.

"Cloud, come on, let's get this over with," Tifa said anxiously, her hand on the doorknob.

"Wait, someone's forcing their way through to the front, isn't that- that's the Princess of Wutai! What's she doing here?" Elena asked incredulously.

"I'm surprised you don't remember Yuffie. We can never seem to get rid of her."

"Cloud! Oh no, this is really bad timing. If there's anything that can get a whole lot of people angry in a very short time, it's Yuffie. I've got to go get her, Cloud."

Tifa was out the door before Cloud could protest, and she was unprepared for the immediate sweep of eyes on her as soon as she stepped outside.

"Tif! Hey, a little help over here? Who invited all these jerks, anyway?" the cocky girl asked, swinging her oversized shuriken around carelessly to gain a little more breathing room. The bright-colored beast beside her ducked resignedly.

"Yuffie, perhaps it would be best to _not_ anger all these humans until we've found out what we've gotten into."

"You're so _boring_, Red. If I was as careful as you, I'd never have any adventures. I'd be sitting in Wutai, learning _manners_ from some old lady and wearing a _dress_." She swiped irritably at the people on either side of her.

"Yuffie!" The dark-haired girl looked up at the dismayed woman beckoning frantically from the porch, and waved cheerfully.

"Be right there! Do we gotta fight all these idiots or what? Seems like an awful lot of people." She turned back to Nanaki. "Not that I'm worried about _me_, I can handle it, it's just that you're getting so _old_, Red, you might throw out your back or something." The big cat padded silently on, patiently ignoring her.

It seemed to Tifa that Yuffie took forever to reach the door, and that the people around her were getting angrier by the second. She could hear a few calls of 'Where are they?' beginning to circulate through the mob, and some angrier, less polite shouts. Fortunately most of those seemed to be directed at Yuffie.

"Yeah, yeah! And so's _your_ mother! And…your face!" Yuffie yelled back, shaking her fist to emphasize the point. It looked like it would come to violence, but Red gave her a hard shove to the back of the legs that pushed her towards Tifa, and the exasperated woman grabbed the girl by a skinny arm and hauled her inside so quickly Cloud was nearly beheaded by the flailing shuriken. "Tifa! Good to see ya! And how's Cloudy-face?" she asked enthusiastically, completely oblivious to the outside and the inside scenes. She pointed at Elena with mischievous grin and said in an exaggerated whisper to Tifa, "How come there're Turks here? Haha, I never noticed, she looks like his sister!"

Cloud shook his head resignedly.

"Oh, she's with you, huh? Um. Well no accountin' for taste, I guess." Tifa looked shocked and opened her mouth to reprimand her, but she forged ahead regardless. Yuffie jerked her thumb at Cloud and spoke to Elena. "I can't get him to say more than four words to me at a time, kinda like Vincent, only compared to Vinnie, Cloud never shuts up. And his hair is so WEIRD. I mean, have you watched him in the morning? It takes like an hour, and I think he has to hang upside down or something, and-" Tifa cut the babble short with a hand clamped over the effusive girl's mouth and she apologized to Elena.

"Normally I wouldn't impose, but given the current situation-" _or in spite of it-_" can I ask you to keep an eye on her for a bit? Just until we can get this…problem sorted out." Nobody felt the need to add on the _if_.

"Not a problem," Elena replied stoically, over the muffled outrage of Yuffie around Tifa's iron grip. Cloud gave her one last firm hug.

"Now I'm not saying you should shoot her if she gives you any lip, but keep your options open," Cloud said loudly.

"Oh, right Cloudy-face. Like a Turk could shoot a ninja. No offense," the irrepressible Yuffie blurted, sticking a foot in Tifa's stomach so she couldn't get a good grip on her.

"Yuffie, you could offend a wind wing if we left it alone with you long enough. Now be quiet and behave for five minutes," Cloud ordered exasperatedly.

"Um, Yuffie? Could you just wait here with Elena, til we get back?"

"What the heck for, I'm starving! Maybe Red can eat icky old scrawny antelope, but I haven't had anything but two bags of sugar mogs today!" she protested. Tifa looked at Red, and he nodded tiredly.

"Just a few minutes, ok Yuff? In case…in case we need some back up," the tall girl finished lamely, appealing to her ego.

"All right, but I'm gonna grab a sandwich first, ok? Or a soda…" she bounced off down the hallway before Tifa could grab her again and let out a shriek when she got around the corner. Cloud slapped himself in the forehead in frustration.

"Yaaaah! There's a larva in here!" There were some sounds of a scuffle, and overturned furniture. "Geroffame- …Tifa!"

"Shut UP, will ya?!" came Reno's furious voice. When Tifa looked around the corner, the redhead had her in a headlock while she kicked furiously. A lamp and an endtable were upside down on the floor, and Yuffie's shuriken had buried itself in the wall across the room. Loz was standing protectively by the couch, and Kadaj simply stared at her with astonishment.

"Right, well it looks like you've got the matter in hand, so I'll just go and see about that angry mob," Tifa said, smirking. She disappeared around the corner.

"Yah, right," growled Reno under his breath as Yuffie made another valiant attempt to kick him in the groin. "Would you just give it a rest? Jeez."

Red, overlooked in the scuffle as he so often was, sniffed at the three boys from what he considered a safe distance.

"They don't _smell_ dangerous," he remarked to her, padding a few more steps forward to sit on his haunches and observe things.

"Are you old _and_ blind, Red? That's the larva!" Yuffie puffed frantically, headbutting Reno's chin as her head shot up to look at the cat. Reno swore colorfully.

"Larva?" Loz's brow wrinkled in confusion.

"Think, Yuffie," Red said patiently. "Why would Tifa just walk away and leave you with them if they were dangerous?"

"_Obviously_ because she's not a ninja, and she doesn't know any better. Ow! You're pulling my hair, you red-headed jerk!"

"Tif's not _stupid_," Reno responded angrily, "But you sure are doing a damn good impression of it."

"Oooh, you are SO dead!" she shouted, stamping hard on his foot and wiggling out of his grip. She made it two feet before he seized her by the back of her shirt and jerked her back sharply enough to knock her on the floor. She was winded and surprised, so he grabbed her in a full nelson. "Agh! Ow, ow OW! Ok, ok. I'll play nice with your stupid larva! For now."

"What the hell is a larva?" Kadaj asked irritably. Both combatants ignored him.

"Good choice. I'm lettin' ya go, cause I ain't got time for this. Any trouble out of you, and next time I'll put your head through the wall." He let her go swiftly, so as to be out of elbow range.

"Like you even _could_," she scoffed, leaping up and over the back of the couch to retrieve her shuriken.

"Would ya shut up a minute?" the Turk asked in aggravation as he leaned over Yazoo and tried to concentrate on the Cure materia. Red padded up for a closer look. Yuffie bounced around the room for a few moments, flourishing her weapon, but peeked over their shoulders when she realized they weren't paying any attention to her.

"You're doing it wrong," she observed sagely. "I could do it better. Even Red could do it better."

"Quit running your mouth and help then, if you're so damn good at it." Reno shoved the green ball towards her and stepped back. "Go on, I'll be surprised if ya don't kill him."

"What?" Loz said in alarm.

"Who _is _she, and what the hell is a larva, and why is she touching Yazoo?" Kadaj snarled.

"I dunno what the heck all this larva stuff is, this is Yuffie, and she's a lot better with materia than I am."

"Aww, thanks Turkle. I'm better at everything else, too." She grinned and activated the Cure, moving through the process with little effort.

"Don't get cocky. Tifa told me you're not allowed to have materia. As soon as you're done with that, give it to Red."

"Yeah, whatever, if you want it, you're gonna hafta–"

"Shh!" Loz said suddenly, and they all looked around at him. "Listen."

The dull roar of anger that had been surrounding them for some time now was dying down, and Reno could hear Tifa's clear voice over them, the words just too faint to hear.

They were quiet for a long moment, including Yuffie. She seemed to sense that this was more serious than she had thought, and managed to keep it to a whisper when she spoke next.

"What in Gongaga is going on here? And what happened to Ya-whats-his-face? And why are _you_ here?"

Reno glared at her in irritation as she interrupted his attempts to hear what was going on outside.

"Tif's letting these three stay here, and Midgar found out about it today. Yazoo went outside, and they got him. And it's none of your damn business why I'm here." Between the angry expression on his face and the blood all over his shirt, Yuffie found it easier to keep quiet.

"How did you get here?" Red asked quietly, taking the initiative to address the boys directly. Reno was about to answer for them, but Kadaj spoke instead, looking sadly at Yazoo.

"They found us in the Lifestream in Mideel. When we were strong enough, Tifa agreed to take us in." He looked Red in the eye. "They were trying to kill us in Mideel, too."

The big cat nodded, then padded to the window, putting his forepaws on the sill to watch the crowd outside. There was silence for a few moments, Yuffie concentrated on the materia, Kadaj watched cautiously, and Reno chewed the end of his ponytail unconsciously, staring off into space.

Loz made a hesitant noise, as if afraid to break the silence. "So, uh…If this doesn't work, how are we going to get out of here?"

"I dunno, kid. I'm working on it," Reno said vaguely.

None of them spoke for a long time. They could faintly hear Cloud and Tifa's voices alternating outside, and the sounds from the crowd grew and faded periodically. Reno thought they were fading more often than growing, but he wasn't about to get his hopes up. Red eventually left the windowsill and sat on his haunches by Kadaj, as the he stared intently at his older brother, watching for the slightest change. After a few minutes, the young boy had unconsciously leaned closer to the cat, seeming to draw some comfort from his calm, reassuring presence. Yuffie had used a great deal of her boundless energy on the healing, and perched herself on the edge of the table, kicking her legs and polishing her weapon with her headband.

After what seemed like hours of tense waiting, Cloud emerged from the back hall, looking drawn and exhausted. Tifa followed, a strange combination of relief and apprehension on her face.

"So what happened?" Yuffie chirped. Cloud acted as if he hadn't heard and immediately headed up the stairs to his room. Reno stood and pulled Tifa gently to his chest.

"They're leaving," she said after a long moment, "But a few of them are staying here. To keep an _eye_ on things," she said with an ironic smile. "It's like house arrest."

"That's better than I hoped for. How did Hero Boy do?" he asked in a low voice, brushing her hair back from her face. "He must've been pretty convincing."

"They weren't kind to him. I doubt we'll able to do it again if we have to. And to think of everything he's done for them… He's very upset, I think." She looked up at him pleadingly. "Could we…do you think we should move them out of here? Somewhere safe?"

"Where this could happen all over again? I don't think so, Tif. Not unless you plan on making the rest of your life one big camping trip in the middle of nowhere. We need to make good here, or it's just going to be a lotta hoppin' around from place to place till someone decides to go after 'em for real." Her face fell.

"Loz could leave," Kadaj said from across the room. He had an empty expression on his face. "He looks normal enough, especially with his hair like that…He could go with Cloud. At least then one of us would get away."

"I'm not leaving," Loz said in a rough voice.

"Don't be stupid," Kadaj said sharply.

"I'm not. And I'm not leaving, either. Not unless you're coming."

"I don't know if it's a good idea for _any_ of ya to be leavin' right now. Not with the damn neighborhood watch outside."

"We can't stay here indefinitely," Tifa argued softly. "And I don't know what I'm going to do about the bar. We'll have to stay closed for now. If Cloud can leave with Loz, even for a while, it may help people to get a little more used to them to see them outside doing normal things. That's what we wanted for him anyway." She sighed. "At least it's solved the dilemma about whether we were going to let people know they were here. I don't think I would've gone about it like this, though." She rubbed at the dark circles under her eyes.

"It's getting late. You should try to get some rest," he said gently.

"I'll never get to sleep now," she said tiredly.

"You'd be surprised what you can sleep after," he replied. _Or through. Very surprised–SHUT it._ He shook his head imperceptibly, and Tifa didn't notice. "Just go upstairs and lay down for a while. I'll stay here tonight and keep an eye on things. Don't worry about the kids. I'll take care of 'em after I send the rookie home."

"All right. Thank you. Thank you for everything, for finding him and bringing him back here." On closer inspection, he thought she looked worse than Cloud. He leaned down to kiss her good night, and then she wandered up the stairs. Reno stood there and pondered his next move. Yuffie had regained her hyperactive energy level, and was trying to balance her spinning shuriken on the palm of her hand, knocking half the things in the living room over in the process. Red paced up to where Reno stood and nudged his leg, pulling him out of his deliberative trance.

"The children need rest, too" he said in a low voice. "And so do you. Yuffie and I can keep watch down here, if you want to sleep."

Reno nodded. He needed a shower and a cigarette more than anything right now. He had a splitting headache, his shirt was sticking to him and he reeked of blood. "Think I'll take ya up on it, man. You get me first if anything changes, ok? I wanna let Tifa get as much sleep as she can." Red nodded. "I'll put the kids to bed, I guess. I dunno if we should move Yazoo, though."

Red cocked his head in the direction of the unconscious boy and seemed to look at him thoughtfully.

"His internal injuries have healed, there are only superficial wounds remaining." He lowered his head again and Reno caught a flash of bright yellow Sense materia in the mythril clip in his mane.

"Good enough for me." He turned to the other boys. "Let's call it a night, whaddya say?"

Loz shrugged, and helped Reno carefully pick Yazoo up off the couch.

"I'm not tired," Kadaj said dismissively, and curled up on the arm chair next to the window, hugging his knees and staring off into the rapidly darkening street.

"Whatever you say, kid. Can't hurt to have an extra pair of eyes down here. G'night." Reno started upstairs with Yazoo. Loz followed more slowly, stopping on the landing and turning back to his little brother.

"Do you really want me to leave?" he asked forlornly.

"Yes," Kadaj said firmly. Then he relented. "Not really. But I think it would be better if you did, don't you?"

"I don't know. I don't know about anything anymore," he sighed. The broad-shouldered man trailed up the steps after his brother and the Turk, leaving Kadaj alone with Red. Yuffie had lost interest in gymnastics and was raiding the fridge with the accompanying clang and smash of dropped dishes and pans.

Although he honestly was dead tired, Kadaj stayed where he was, looking out the window and thinking. He jumped a little when the overhead light went out.

"Sorry," came Red's voice from across the room. "I forgot you were here."

"Why'd you turn it off?"

"I see better than humans in the dark, and I can see the ones outside much more easily without the lights on." As he spoke, flashlights illuminating pools of pavement in restless circles became visible. He jumped easily up onto the windowseat by the chair, and settled down to watch them.

"I want them to go away," Kadaj said sulkily, resting his chin on his knees and glaring at the shadows with lights. "Tifa told them what happened, that it wasn't our fault, why won't they go away? Or just get it over with and kill us?"

"They are frightened more than they are brave. Sometimes being frightened makes you angry, but it isn't always enough to overcome the fear. They are very angry; they are also very frightened."

"There's no point," the silver-haired boy said bitterly. "None of us could put up a fight now. We're weak," he finished with a sneer.

"They don't know that."

"Then why doesn't somebody tell them? Why wouldn't our brother say it to them? Maybe they'd leave us alone then."

"Maybe they would leave you alone. Or maybe, it would take enough of the fear away to let the anger win over." His head turned in the shadows, and Kadaj knew he was watching him. Even though he couldn't see the cat's eyes, the boy couldn't return the gaze and buried his face against his legs.

"I want to go home," he said, his voice oddly young and vulnerable. "I think…I think I want to see my mother. But I don't have a home. And I never had a mother. Not a real one."

"That is very lonely."

"Yes." Quietly Kadaj began to cry, and he was embarrassed that he was unable to hold it back. Red resigned himself to tolerating human behavior and rested his chin on the arm of the chair, and after a moment, the boy reached out a tentative hand to rub the reddish mane. It seemed to make him feel better.

"Thanks," he said in a shaky voice a few minutes later.

"Animals seem to have a calming effect on humans," Red said conversationally as if Kadaj hadn't just burst into tears in front of a near total stranger. "You won't feel alone forever, you know." Kadaj didn't answer, but he left one hand on the comfortingly warm mane as they watched the shadows pass on the street.


	12. The Long Dark Night

Well, it's been a long hiatus/sabbatical/thing, and here's the next installment. It's a little short compared to my average chapter lengths, but it's mostly introspective. A lot of material, little dialogue and filler. And a little history and backstory to tidy up emptier spots. It's just nice to know I have a direction to take this now, I was a little lost with where it was going when I left off, I got ahead of the plot and then it just stopped writing itself and left me at an impasse. But it's good to be back and thank you so much for the continuing interest and reviews this has received!

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Cloud sat on the edge of the bed, gazing sullenly out the window slats at the darting lights in the street. _Please, trust us,_ he had asked, begged even. He hoped Elena hadn't heard the things he said, or that she knew he didn't think that way about himself. She had seemed to look right through him when he returned. Maybe disgusted with him, maybe lost in her own private hell. _I suppose you can pursue __her__ with safety, after all, you worry about people dying around you and it might be a kindness to put a bullet to that troubled blonde head…._the nasty voice in his head remarked. At one time he might've called it Sephiroth, torturing him. Now he knew better, knew that it was only himself, but to him it always seemed to be in Hojo's thin, cold nasal tones, niggling at the chinks in his sanity. It didn't bother him as much anymore. But he didn't like that thought about Elena.

He wished she would come up to him, as he put his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands, but he knew she was on watch and he needed to go to her. She probably needed him more, anyway. He knew about her attraction to Tseng, the utter devotion she had held to the man. He knew, or suspected he knew, what it had done to her mind to see him tortured. Tseng's devotion was first and foremost to his job and to Rufus, and there didn't seem to be enough space between the two for a half-mad young blonde woman who was his subordinate. But his kind indifference didn't change the damage those long days had done to her. Cloud didn't sleep much the nights he was with her. He listened to the things she said in her sleep, things he knew she would never tell him voluntarily. It provoked guilt in him to listen, but he consoled himself that he wanted to help her. And maybe, just a little, it made him feel that here at last was someone more dysfunctional than him, whom he could take care of to distract himself from his own comparatively insignificant traumas. The lights went off in the living room downstairs and he could hear Reno wearily climbing the stairs and stumbling into the shower.

It irked the blond that there was that bond between Reno and Elena, the Turk "club," that most exclusive association of elite murderers and spies. He hated the look in her desperate eyes that seemed to say there was no way to tell him what they'd seen, and he couldn't make it better with all his strength and will and even love, if it came to that. It was something he was still coming to terms with. He wished she would leave Shinra, but of course there was no possibility of that. Not even the kinder, gentler Shinra was so lenient. And Rufus was being remarkably low-key in his in resuming his company's gradual stranglehold on Midgar.

Tifa hiccupped in her sleep and turned over in the bed next to his, rousing him from his thoughts. He decided to get up at last. He grabbed a blanket and headed down to see Elena.

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It was always disturbing to Elena to be outside her apartment after dark. She was often out of it for days on assignments, especially lately, but she could never quite shake the nervous chill that came over her at dusk without the curtains drawn and the doors locked in her own bedroom. She shivered as she watched the restless sparks outside, training on each individually but taking in the groups as a whole as they crossed her line of sight. She let her mind enter a fluid state, ascertaining patterns of movement and communication as people came, went and changed shifts. She watched for a change, a slight increase in tempo that signaled a need to use her weapon on the moving targets.

She wondered idly when she would sleep next. She wouldn't sleep here. Not even if he asked her to. Maybe tomorrow night this siege would be over and she could go back to routine. Maybe Cloud would be there. Cloud. She liked the name, it suited him. Blurred and uncertain around the edges, always obscuring his intentions and emotions in his face, and helping to fog some of her more unpleasant thoughts with his easy distraction. He hadn't asked about her dreams, or seemed unduly put off by her disturbing nights. He also hadn't been hurt when she locked herself in the bathroom instead of remaining in the comfort of his arms. She couldn't tell him. There were some things so terrible….Confession didn't make sense to her; it wasn't right to inflict such things, such thoughts and knowledge on someone you cared for. Better to burn it inside you. So she did as she had for so many nights before. She locked herself in the bathroom and sat shivering in a corner with her gun pressed hard to the side of her head and waited.

Sometimes she would stay like that all night, trance-like, and then come to, realizing that her arm was numb and aching from holding it up and her temple was so bruised she nearly screamed if it was touched. It was soothing. Some day the time would come when there were enough things inside her head to tilt the balance and pull the trigger. Every time it didn't happen, she awoke the next day both sad and relieved. The first time had been after her sixth month as a Turk, only a little while after Reno had stopped calling her a rookie. She found her mind coiling tighter and tighter after every assignment. At a loss for an outlet for the things she had to do and see during the day, she couldn't sleep most nights. She remembered that day, but not the job they had done. She had worked with Reno, and they had done something unforgivable. Elena was dully glad she could not remember. They spent the night afterward in an empty warehouse in Junon on the way back to Midgar, and Elena had had blood on her hands. She tried to clean it off without water futilely, exhausted. She had seen a single drop of blood on Reno's white lapel and said something vicious to which he retaliated. Soon they were both screaming hysterically at one another and he had his gun pointed at her head. He had asked her if she wanted to die that badly. Calmly, she asked him to stop playing with her and pull the trigger. They had made love afterwards, without affection, savagely, and they had never spoken of it since. That was only one of many things that were never mentioned again in Shinra's vast history of sins.

She heard Cloud's soft but deliberately audible steps behind her and allowed herself a rare smile. The man who never asked questions and the girl who never spoke. Fitting.

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Hard as it was to get out of the warm stream, Reno felt it was worth it to see Tifa asleep, limbs flung outward in a child-like posture of assured safety, oddly enough for the situation she had been in when awake. Her face held a charming innocence and a soft grace he had only seen once before. _Rude should have her,_ he thought miserably. _He would suit her. He was never meant to be a Turk and she was never meant to be unhappy. They should be off on some farm somewhere raising fat, happy kids. (Who do you like, Rude?)_ No one had ever asked Reno. He had just laughed when Rude said her name so shyly, like a humiliated teenager. Rude had felt that he had no right to be in her life, that no one from Shinra had a right to her when they had taken so much from her.

There were some harsh words exchanged the first time he had seen her with Reno, some months ago. Or, there would have been if Rude had been the type to use words. Reno had been at the Heaven during the day, unusually for him, since the bar was closed then. Rude had tracked him down to deliver his job assignment, and seen him sitting cockily at the bar, drinking coffee and _looking _at her. The way Rude had looked at her from behind his glasses where he knew no one could see. She had been laughing, taking back the bottle of cream liqueur Reno was so fond of stealing for his coffee, and Reno had reached out a hand and grabbed hers to stop her, and suddenly she was _looking _ at him, too. The red-head had known that Rude saw him, had seen him turn and leave stiff-shouldered. It was the first time Rude had seen his partner look guilty and regretful. Rude hadn't been able to say much, only a few halting words.

"I don't……..I don't have anything to say…..to you….if you…." He had been unable to articulate further, but his large hands rose and fell in fists and Reno had understood and nodded slowly. He hadn't said he was sorry, he knew it wasn't enough. He had only promised to take care of her.

"I see it, Rude. I understand," he had said about her, and that seemed to be what Rude was waiting to hear, even if it didn't quite satisfy.

Rude had a girl, now. A kind, quiet girl from one of Shinra's lower floors who didn't know what he did for a living and never asked. She was good to him, and Reno was happy for him. Tifa sighed softly in her sleep and smiled a little, and Reno felt again that unfamiliar twinge of guilt. He squashed it and reached down to pull the blankets up over her.

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Rufus stood at the dark window of the 60th floor rooms in the new Shinra building. Below, an occasional home or street vendor dotted the streets with light, a few street lamps lit with more primitive technology than mako glowed dimly, courtesy of Shinra, Inc. The sight of it made his stomach clench in revulsion at the impotence of his empire. The newly finished rooms smelled of fresh paint and new carpet. It assaulted his nostrils, smelling of weakness and tenuously established control. New things were vulnerable and attracted contempt or opposition. Better were established regimes, ensconced in layer upon layer of well-known power and popular fear. Worst, perhaps, were those things that crumbled and yet refused to die at their appointed time, clinging to life and rebuilding painfully like a feeble old man fleeing death.

"It isn't the phoenix you wanted it to be," came a quiet voice from behind him. Rufus remained in quiet reflection a moment longer before answering.

"A phoenix must die before it can be reborn, Tseng. I never wanted the downfall in the first place, so that analogy is not quite accurate." He paused. "Besides that, you are correct. It won't be a glorious ascension by any means. I knew that from the beginning. Shinra is in public disgrace," he said as if the last words left a foul taste in his mouth. Tseng dutifully changed the subject.

"What of the Jenova stocks? What strains we have left are not worth seeking out."

"How much remains?" Rufus asked tiredly.

"Only a few specimens, diluted and mixed. Nothing potent or in its original form. Little enough to interest him or even to allow him to cling to life. I'm sorry that we have no answers yet." Rufus pressed his fingers to his eyes in a rarely seen moment of fatigue. "Without the Jenova, we have no clear link from Sephiroth to the Lifestream, or to the Remnants, if they can even be called that, now."

"Reno tells me at least one of them may be leaving Midgar soon. I wonder if Cloud thinks he can protect them."

"Getting them out may be the only way to protect them now. There was….an incident in Midgar Square today. One of the Remnants was assaulted there. Reno and Elena are holed up in the Heaven with them. They were responsible for the rescue of the boy. Elena said they thought it best to save him, in order to most efficiently comply with their current directives."

"It was careless of them to let the boy out. It may have been better for us if he had died there. I had hoped to keep Shinra from being overtly involved with this, at least for the time being." Rufus frowned. "We have suffered enough damage at that madman's hands and now he is complicating things further."

"Perhaps we should withdraw, and allow things to take their natural course."

Rufus shook his head.

"If he had died there, we could have claimed ignorance, but now there is no way to retreat without alienating one or more of them, and until we are sure there is no lasting loyalty to Cloud, it isn't safe for us to take away what little protection we offer. It is only natural of people to want to look after their 'savior.' We can't withdraw our own support until it becomes obvious that he doesn't have any left."

"And Reno?" Tseng asked quietly.

"He will do what has to be done. As always."

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I think it needed a little more fleshing out, things have been happening so fast the characters are only being advanced by things happening to them and not so much by introspection. Which is all well and good, but I despise a shallow character. Speaking of which, I just reread my first three chapters (I'm up to 84 pages of text in word) and they make me shudder. I really need to redo them. Thanks again for reading. i'll be around


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